A 100+-year-old Zinfandel vine in Russian River Valley.
Have you ever taken a stroll down the Zinfandel section of a wine store and noticed how all, or almost all, of the wines come from California? Maybe you have heard that Zinfandel is from Italy because it is genetically identical to Primitivo from Puglia, or that it really came from Croatia? Despite its exact origins, the most important question is: how did this grape from the other side of the globe make its way to the United States to capture the hearts of our wine lovers, and to cement itself as the heritage variety of California?
The history of Zinfandel’s journey to America is as colorful and lively as the founding of America itself. The story is rife with chance, scandal, endurance, and hope, with the belief that this grape would be the star variety for the newly discovered American west. There are many people today that believe the story that Agoston Haraszthy, a Hungarian entrepreneur and viticulturist, was the one that introduced Zinfandel to California. In 1861 the famed founder of Sonoma’s Buena Vista Winery toured Europe and collected over 300 vines to introduce to the United States. However, in all of Haraszthy’s writings and cataloging the name Zinfandel is not once mentioned. The truth is Zinfandel had already been planted long before his European journey. Agoston Haraszthy undoubtedly made countless contributions to the promotion and expansion of the budding California wine scene, but the myth that he was the father of Zinfandel was largely spread by his son Arpad after his abrupt death in a crocodile-infested river in Nicaragua.
Gold Rushers were thirsty. And they wanted Zin!
The credit for introducing Zinfandel to America can in fact be traced back to George Gibbs, a nursery owner in Long Island, who brought back vine clippings from the Imperial Collection of Plant Species in Vienna, Austria, during the 1820s. The variety took off with greenhouse growers across the East Coast for its great flavor and the hearty endurance of the vine, taking the lead in prices at the market. Zinfandel was introduced to California by Massachusetts sea captain and horticultural enthusiast Frederick W. Macondray. Macondray brought several vines by ship from Boston in 1852 as part of agricultural trials to help supply the high demands from the adventurers trying to strike it rich in the Gold Rush. Winemakers across the state struck gold with the introduction of Zinfandel, as it quickly was celebrated for the quality of wine it delivered, and went on to win countless awards in the agricultural scene.
Today California is home to the oldest Zinfandel vines in the country, many of which were able to survive and expand during the dark days of Prohibition thanks to an old Federal rule that allowed head of households to make up to 200 gallons of wine per year for “home consumption.” Train cars packed full of California Zinfandel trekked across the country, selling the wine for premium prices as the American palate grew to favor wine with their new limitation on libations. This thick-skinned, hearty grape is as enduring as the American spirit and has continued to evolve and prosper over its many years of history in its adoptive home of California. It is adaptive, versatile, and is made into a myriad of varying styles of wine—ranging from fresh and fruity, jammy and rich, savory and ageworthy, pink, and everything in between. Zinfandel wines are as diverse and unique as the adventurers who flocked to California in its beginning, which is why it is so apt that this grape has established itself as California’s heritage variety.
With the spirit of fall in full swing here in Southern California, K&L Hollywood got into cold weather groove this past week by talking about some of our favorite Zinfandels to celebrate National Zinfandel day on November 20th. Here’s my pick:
The 2015 Easton Zinfandel from Amador County is one of Shelby’s favorites.
I chose the 2015 Easton Zinfandel from Amador County. Hailing from the Amador area myself, I loves the rich history Zinfandel has in the Sierra Foothills, and have often pointed to the modern day Amador pioneer Bill Easton for crafting some of the finest wines in the region. This wine captures the Sierra Foothills with its notes of brambley blackberries, raspberries, sage, smoked pepper, and touches of sweet baking spices to accompany its big structure and zesty finish.
- Shelby Griffiths