By Robert Giles

Enjoy a good wine world mystery? Look no further than the Zinfandel grape.

Known today as a Californian specialty, the origins of this grape and how it made its way to America have been shrouded in mystery for years. During the horticultural boom of the 1800's this grape, most likely, came into the country as an unnamed cutting that took well to our climate.

As the gold rush in California was winding down, many of the former miners turned to agriculture and, in particular, the growing of grapes. Years of genetic testing as well as the study of historical documents led researchers to discover that the Zinfandel grape had Croatian roots and was also the same grape as Primitivo in Puglia, Italy.

Eventually, in the 1980's white Zinfandel became a popular American wine and soon led to a pure Zinfandel that has remained popular to this day.

While mainly an American varietal, it is still grown to some degree in Italy. The main challenge of this grape is the thin skinned and tightly compacted clusters that ripen unevenly. This leads to the complicated task of harvesting the ripened fruit at just the right time in order to maintain a high quality in the finished product. That said, the finished product varies more by the overall temperature of the growing region rather than the soil composition as in Pinot Noir.

In general, you can expect a Zinfandel wine to have strong flavors of blackberry and black plum with lighter notes of dried fruits and coffee or vanilla. In some cases there can also be hints of tobacco and smoke with finishing notes of spices and pepper. The overall strength of these flavors and their depth can be tied to the overall yield of the vines. Larger yields lead to lighter flavors while controlled, small yields lead to stronger flavors.

Italian Primitivos are grown in a warm region with controlled smaller yields in their best wines. This often lends itself to a softer, fruity, dry red wine that can give excellent value for the money. Lunaria Primitivo is a great example of this style and what great Italian Primitivos are capable of.

For California Zinfandels the finished product is determined very much by the overall climate of the region it is grown in.

Lodi, for instance, is a very warm region and lends itself to wines with deep well-ripened fruit flavors and strong hints of spices.

Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel is a great example of this with strong notes of dark cherry, hints of smoke, and finishing with notes of pepper.

Napa Valley shows a good middle ground in what is capable with this grape.

The warm climate leads to slightly larger yields but Frog's Leap Zinfandel still shows a controlled and focused wine. Dark, soft blackberry and blueberry notes give way to soft tannins and the faint hint of vanilla and pepper. This dark red wine is great in the winter and even in the summer with a slight chill.

The Sonoma region with its slightly cooler climate lends itself to a strongly structured wine that displays fresh fruit flavors and stronger structured tannins.

Ridge Three Valley showcases these qualities nicely. This Zinfandel based wine shows ripe raspberry and dark cherry notes that give way to light notes of mint with hints of spice. The tannins are well structured and not overpowering leaving a well-structured wine that can pair easily with many meals.

While this may not be one of the most widely grown grapes in the world it is a great wine to have on hand. The pairing opportunities with many meat dishes and barbecue will give a new option if you are stuck in rut of Cabernets.

Zinfandels are some of my favorite wines that tend to be overlooked but remain highly recommended for their dark fruits and lower tannins. If you want more recommendations don't forget to ask our wine experts here in store. Cheers!