Grape Variety: Zinfandel

Colour: Red

Not the last grape in the alphabet (that special honour belongs to the Austrian Zweigelt grape), however, my fellow Americans, blessed by God, under one flag, one nation, indivisible, this is your one native grape variety. It comes in two incarnations: vile blush and the big rich bastard who lives on the hill. DNA fingerprinting suggests that Zinfandel is the same as the artery-hardening-to-pronounce Crljenak Kastelanski, a little known Croatian grape variety. Whatever. Capable of producing fine wines in the right hands (Paul Draper, Helen Turley and John Williams), when yields are low, otherwise can be hot and stewed. The taste of the red wine depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas and in wines made from the earlier-ripening Primitivo clone.

Our token example appears in a wine called Meditrina by Sokol Blosser where it is blended with Pinot Noir and Syrah.

As Byron almost said, sometimes zin’s a pleasure. Described by one wine writer as the Harley Davidson of grape varieties, I would say more like Jim Davidson.