ALL FOR WINE AND WINE FOR ALL

Spring Into Zinfandel

By Patrick Frank | Special to the Palisadian-Post

What wine pairs well with springtime dishes such as quiche Lorraine or vegetable lasagna?

It’s time to take a new look at Zinfandel. Over the past several years, Zinfandel producers have been going through a revolution in slow motion. Many of them are retreating from the full-on, deep-garnet, fruit-bomb style that was prevalent in our state from the 1980s well into the new millennium. And they are limiting yields, harvesting earlier, and using fewer new oak barrels and more native yeasts.

The results are impressive: Wines with balanced fruit and spice notes, attractive medium body, firmer texture and a worthy dash of tannin to promote aging potential. As Randle Johnson, winemaker at Artezin, explained it to me, “I wanted to get back to the roots of Zin.”

Those roots go very deep in California. Zinfandel originated in Croatia, but it is rare there; Italian Primitivo is closely related. The grape came to our state with the Gold Rush, and many vineyards planted before Prohibition are still producing. While the label “Old Vines” on a bottle has no legal definition, old vines tend to produce wines with a more spicy or herbal character.

So how did we get from there to a ticking fruit bomb? The answer comes from a Zinfandel quirk. The grape bunches frequently ripen unevenly, and as growers wait for full ripeness in the laggards, the rest of the bunch can get overripe and raisiny. This usually leads to high-alcohol wines. Some of these rich wines can be very good, and there are producers who still make it in that born-this-way style. But such Zins also divide drinkers; some love it, some leave it.

The revolution began just a few years ago. Winemaker Jonathan Lachs of El Dorado County’s Cedarville Vineyards said, “For me, it was in 2013 when a handful of like-minded winemakers said Zinfandel needn’t be overripe to be delicious.”

In more practical terms, Terra d’Oro Winery in Amador County once helped to pioneer the rich, full-on style, but, said winemaker Chris Leamy, “That’s not where the market is anymore.” They are dialing it back to a lighter style in response to consumer demand.

There is a yet more compelling argument for a restrained style of winemaking: It’s truer to the vineyard site, its slope, its soil—its “terroir” in winemaker’s terms. That’s what most cutting-edge producers are after these days. Ridge Vineyards winemaker Eric Baugher said, “Once you get above 15 percent alcohol, you completely erase your terroir. You might make a good Zin, but it will taste the same as everybody else’s.”

Which leaves all of us drinkers with good options for springtime sipping. These lighter Zinfandels are versatile companions to pasta, pizza and Mediterranean cuisine of all types.

This Month’s Recommended Wines: Zinfandels in a Medium Style for  Springtime Enjoyment

Ravenswood Old Vine Vintner’s Blend

The entry-level offering from a pioneer of the new style. Easy drinking, with raspberry and spices. Upper-level releases are also worthy.

Frank Family Vineyards Napa Valley

Medium-bodied with yeasty and earthy notes along with blackberry. (No relation to the author) From six Napa vineyard sites, blended with a dash of Petite Sirah.

Seghesio Old Vine Sonoma County

From 70-year-old vines on old family ranches. Spicy aromas lead to red-fruit flavors. Drink some now, cellar the rest for a few years.

Rusack Santa Catalina Island Vineyard

A rarity, grown on Catalina Island from a unique Zinfandel clone. Fewer than 100 cases produced. Delicate, with herb and blackberry notes.