Zinfandel – Red And Right For You

Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday.  It is fitting that we should celebrate with the quintessential American wine.  That’s why I’m recommending (and serving) zinfandel with this year’s Thanksgiving feast.

Although zinfandel did not originate in the United States, we definitely perfected it.  And, its profile is uniquely American – bold, powerful, approachable, versatile and with a real emphasis on value.  Perhaps this is why zinfandel was my first wine love.  And why it still has a special place in my heart. 

Zinfandel is a red grape, although many winemakers separate the juice from the skins early in the winemaking process to create white zinfandel.  Most of the pigment in a grape is in its skin.  If the juice is not in contact with the skin during the fermentation process, the juice of a red wine will turn out more white (or pink) than red. 

Although I’m not a big fan of white zin, I’m delighted that some enterprising folks at Sutter Home Winery invented it in the 1970s.  In those days, consumption of red wine was waning in America.  In an attempt to take advantage of new trends, many vineyard owners began ripping up red grape vines that were 60 or 70 years old and replacing them with white grapes or with other fruits and vegetables. 

To those who are serious about wine, this is a tragedy.  Grape vines do not generally produce grapes in harvestable quantities for about five years after planting.  After the vines have been producing for decades, they begin to yield smaller crops.  It is these smaller yields that are so prized by wine connoisseurs.  Wine made from these grapes tend to be more concentrated and more complex than wine made from high yielding vines.  This is why you will often see winemakers boasting on their labels or ads that their wine is made from “old vines.”  It is why I’m so happy that Sutter Home invented white zinfandel.

White zin was a hit almost instantly.  People liked it because it was slightly sweet and quite low in alcohol.  You didn’t need to “learn” to like it and because the flavors were consistent from bottle to bottle and year to year, you never had an unpleasant surprise when you opened a bottle.  Suddenly, Sutter Home was selling a lot more wine than it had when it was making more serious red wines.  And suddenly, it didn’t make sense to rip up the vines anymore. 

When premium wines started to make a come-back in the 1980s and 1990s, Sutter Home and other winemakers realized that they could once again make serious money off of their century-old vines by producing premium red wines.  The moved their white zinfandel production to new vineyards with higher crop yields.   After all, with its simple and sweet flavors, white zin doesn’t need the complexity or concentration of ancient vines.  And with the higher yields of younger vines, they could make more wine on fewer acres.  And then those wonderful old vineyards could be used to make some beautifully complex and rich red wines.  Whenever I enjoy an “old vines” zinfandel, I give thanks for white zinfandel.  Without it, those marvelous old vines would be long gone.

Although there are many different styles of zinfandel, there are some typical characteristics – spicy and peppery with loads of berry flavors.  Some zins are heavier and match well with grilled foods and pizza.  Others are lighter and work well as picnic wines.  But something they all have in common is that they pair well with food, especially American fare.  Zinfandel is perfect with barbecued foods.  Its spice and pepper stand up well to root vegetables and its berry flavors make it a great match with smoked or slow-cooked meats. 

With the variety of foods that will be on most tables this Thanksgiving season, zinfandel is ideal.  Zinfandel is tough enough to stand up to the more assertive flavors on the table (herbs in stuffing, vegetables, cranberry) but has enough fruit and sweetness that it won’t overwhelm the more subtle flavors in turkey and potatoes.  Although the general rule in wine pairing is “white with white meat; red with red meats,” there are exceptions.  Zinfandel with turkey is one of them.

If all this isn’t enough to persuade you, let me share one other (very important) fact about zinfandel – it’s beautifully affordable.  Although you can find some outstanding zins for $30 or more, you can find some very good ones for approximately $10.  All of our local grocery stores carry at least one very good and very affordable zinfandel.  Here are a few of my recommendations with approximate price (as of early November):  2004 or 2005 Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull (California; $8.50) and 2005 Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend (California; $9.99).  While neither of these wines is made exclusively of “old vines” zinfandel, there’s usually some of it in there.  Two others that are not quite as good, but are real steals for the price are Wild Hare (California; $3.99) and 2002 R. Merlo (California; $4.99). 

If you’d rather have a white zin, those are also widely available locally and would pair quite nicely with Thanksgiving dinner as well.  My two favorite are Beringer and Sutter Home.  Both are approximately $5-7.

Finally, if you want to try something a little more complex and don’t mind spending a little bit more money, try any “old vines” (sometimes labeled “ancient vines”) of any of my favorite zinfandel producers:  Ravenswood (whose motto is “No Wimpy Wines), Rabbit Ridge (the Wild Hare mentioned above is the “second label” for Rabbit Ridge), Ridge, Cline, Beringer and Benziger.  These will range in price from about $15 up to about $25.  I have only found a couple of them locally from time to time, but they are worth looking for.  If you do spring for one this Thanksgiving, please do what I do – offer a toast to white zinfandel and our friends at Sutter Home for saving the zinfandel grape in America!