This blog is based on the Spirits of New Mexico radio show that aired on August 7, 2021. We do on-air tasting of one or two wines to illustrate what is available in a particular wine region, or as a contrast of what influence a wine region has on a grape or blend. We also contrast wine styles as in the current blog. We use suitable glasses for the type of wine and do a double-decant of red wines to insure they have opened sufficiently for accurate judging.
A few weeks ago we enjoyed California Zinfandel wines from various regions to contrast what different fruit provided. Since we lately have been contrasting Old & New World wine styles, it was time to try that with what many perceive as a classic American grape; Zinfandel. Primitivo is an Italian grape, most famously from Puglia in the Italian boot. Both grapes had their origin in Croatia, but have had a long time to evolve in their new homes so they are distinctive clones of each other.
Zinfandel Origins
In many cases the only way to know for sure a plants origin is via DNA testing. Such was the case with Zinfandel, which in the late 1990s was able to identify Croatia as the origin of both Zinfandel and Primitivo, an Italian grape. After years of research a single 90-year-old grape vine from the garden of an elderly lady in Split, Croatia, provided the evidence to show that Zinfandel was a Croatian grape that has been known as Tribidrag since at least the 15th century.
Cuttings of Zinfandel were brought to California during the 1850 Gold Rush, some from cuttings sent to England as a possible table grape, then to New England horticultural society where it was named Zinfandal and out to California where it became Zinfandel. But other cuttings could have come from Puglia, where it had been growing for some time, brought in by Italian immigrants.
It is possible J. W. Osborne made the first wine from Zinfandel in California. Or it could have been home-grown wine from the Italians. In any case both varieties could have been circulating in vineyards. It would be hard to tell since both possess the same DNA, so we can only speculate. Planting of Zinfandel boomed soon after, and by the end of the 19th century it was the most widespread variety in California.
Prohibition all but killed Zinfandel and many vines were ripped out. The grape was subject to rot when transported long distances and was replaced with Alicante Bouschet for the home market. In 1972 Bob Trinchero of Sutter Home Winery used the saignee technique to remove some of the first run juice to intensify his Deaver vineyard Zinfandel in Amador County. The dry, white juice was made into a Rose-style wine but generated little interest. That is until a stuck fermentation in 1975 produced a sweet runoff juice, which caught on and white Zinfandel now sells at nearly six times red Zinfandel.
Whence cometh the grape
Currently both Zinfandel and the Primitivo clone grow well in many part of California. The earlier-ripening Primitivo is also gaining fans. Castoro Cellars in Paso Robles quadrupled their Primitivo holdings alongside their highly-rated Zinfandel. Currently Zinfandel is the third most planted grape after Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The brix level determines the fruit flavors and ABV.
Zinfandel styles:
- White Zinfandel – no skin contact after crush, varying residual sugar
- Zinfandel Rose – minimal skin contact, finished dry
- Zinfandel Red – Normal extraction, dry, balanced, 13.5 to 14.5 % ABV
- Zinfandel Claret – Done like a Bordeaux claret, Grgich Hills and Milagro Vineyards
- Zinfandel Big – Jammy, heavy extraction, ripe or overripe grapes 15.0 to 17% ABV
- Late Harvest Zinfandel – Overripe grapes, residual sugar, under 15% Tobin James Liquid Love
California’s oldest vineyard
The Original Grandpère Vineyard – the oldest and most revered of California’s Old Vine Zinfandel vineyards is quite a sight to see. The gnarly, thick-trunked vines have been around for much of California’s history. Stoic, steadfast, they still bear fruit for the most revered Zinfandel in the world. And that age makes wines from here particularly suited to a comparison with the Italian version. In fact some Amador county wineries also plant Primitivo as they have in Paso Robles and other sites.
While there are many places in California that produce excellent Zinfandel, our focus will be on Amador County, one of the first places this grape was planted in the Sierra Foothills.
Amador County
If there is one wine region in the foothills that most Zin lovers would recognize it would be Amador County; known for their robust Zinfandel wines. Within the county are some of the oldest Zinfandel vineyards of California. I’ve explored most of this area and found a captivating wine region to explore and lasting memories of fun and fellowship with their winemakers.
Most of the Sierra Foothills wineries are family-owned and operated with small vineyards and a unique personal style of winemaking that has disappeared from many other regions like Napa and Sonoma. In fact the closest similarity I’ve found is to our own New Mexico wineries that are also family-owned with small vineyards and unique wines one will find nowhere else.
Amador County is located just west of the Lodi wine region. It has a Mediterranean climate, in part from the Delta, a series of rivers that feed San Francisco Bay. The land is bathed in light with warm days that rarely exceed 100 degrees and cool nights where the Sierra winds drop temperatures 30 to 35 degrees allowing the grapes to retain the acidity; essential for well-balanced wines.
Amador County Vines
The majority of Amador’s vines are head-trained, spur-pruned and either own-rooted or on low vigor rootstocks like St. George, which provide a natural check on yields.
- Trained vines are primarily on bi-lateral cordons with vertical trellising.
- Severe pruning, cluster thinning, and dropping crop when necessary keep yields small, generally four tons per acre or less.
- The highest percentages of organically farmed vineyards in California
- Dry-farming, also inhibits phylloxera infestation.
- 600 acres are 65 years or older, some dating to the 19th century.
- These deeply rooted, head-trained vines in vineyards such as Deaver, Grandpere and Lubenko, yield tiny crops of small-berried grapes, produce premium Zinfandel
Other grapes of Amador
- Barbera, the famous red grape of Piedmonte, Italy thrive in Amador and rival the best of Italy
- Sangiovese is as good in Amador County as anywhere else it is planted, better than most locales
- Syrah and Viognier, two Rhone Valley grapes also do very well here.
- Contains the lush Shenandoah Valley, with striking similarity to Tuscany
- Many historic Gold Rush towns are also here to explore
Top Wineries
There are many wineries I’ve visited here that produce excellent red wines from Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Barbera and Syrah. Many of the wineries are perched atop hills in what reminds me of Tuscany, with rolling terrain and many microclimates. There are good whites, too, but everyone comes for the reds.
Map courtesy AmadorWine.com
The primary towns are Plymouth, Fiddletown, Drytown, Amador City and Sutter Creek so you know you’re in gold country. North of Plymouth, which was previously called Pokerville, is Shenandoah Road and Steiner Road which provide access to many of the wineries. A few are scattered around Drytown, which fortunately is not dry and more are found at Sutter Creek.
As you might recall, near Sutter Creek is where gold was first discovered and the town has a large deep mine that reached 2300 feet down. Now of course wine is much more important.
- Amador Cellars
- Deaver Vineyards
- Drytown Cellars
- Karmere Vineyards
- Shenandoah Vineyards
- Terra d’Ora (Montevina)
- Turley
- Vino Noceto
What we are tasting: Sobon Estate 2018 ReZerve® Zinfandel, 15.4% ABV, $28.99
Their website Sobonwine.com provides good background of the Sobon family. Shenandoah Vineyards in Plymouth, CA, was founded in 1977 by Shirley and Leon Sobon. They moved from Los Altos, California, where Leon was a Senior Scientist with the Lockheed Research Lab. Leon’s gift for home winemaking led him to leave Lockheed and begin a new career as a winemaker. His son Paul took over winemaking duties after a stint at UC Davis and travels abroad studying with winemakers in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Australia. What a dream job that is!
Winemaker notes: Another remarkable bottling of ReZerve® Zin from our finest vineyards. Beautiful aromas of blackberry, cocoa, and mulberry highlight the wine. The flavor of ripe plum, berry, and chocolate bring out the true old-vine character of this, our finest offering.
The two locations are Shenandoah Vineyards and Sobon Estate, both in Shenandoah Valley.
Paul Sobon also makes a wide range of wines, some from Rhone varietals, Barbera and a Zingiovese blend of Sangiovese and Zinfandel. One of the other ReZerve® wines is a Primitivo. They do over 30 different wines, many very innovative. They are well represented at Total Wines.
Italian Primitivo
At one time the name Primitivo alone signaled an Italian grape. But after DNA testing revealed that it was a clone of Zinfandel a number of Zinfandel producers in California decided to give it a look. The fact it was an earlier ripening varietal than Zinfandel and a different flavor profile would have been factors. Castoro Cellars began planting the grape and after early releases brought wide acclaim decided to increase the acreage significantly. They were not alone, but were the first ones I tried and the wine made a deep impression.
Map courtesy of Wine Folly
Puglia (Apulia)
Located on the heel of the Italian boot and I mean that in a positive way because of the influences of the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas and the rich soil that has made Primitivo such a popular wine. Besides Primitivo, Negroamaro and Bombino Nero are prized grapes often used for Rosso and Rosato.
Puglia with its dry, hot weather, moderated by the sea on three sides also produces 1/2 of the country’s olive oil.
Wine Folly on Primitivo: If you’re searching for a richer, fuller-bodied red with abundant weight look towards Puglia Primitivo. Primitivo tastes of dark fruit like fresh figs, blueberries and baked blackberries. There’s a distinct dried fruit-leather character to it as well.
The word Primitivo doesn’t mean primitive in Italian, but actually means early ripening since these grapes accumulate a lot of sugar early in the season. The early ripening means resulting wines are big, luscious and full of fruit. However, what’s fascinating about Primitivo is that sometimes the grape bunches ripen unevenly, so green grapes will get harvested along with the ripe ones.
The town of Split, Croatia is across the Adriatic Sea from Italy and further north than Puglia, but it is easy to see how grape cuttings in Croatia could have crossed to Bari, Puglia, its port city. There they took root, loving the hot, fertile country in which they were planted.
What we are tasting: Forte Incanto 2018 Primitivo Salento, 14% ABV, $14.99 at Total Wine
Forte Incanto makes a Chardonnay-based Bianca, two Negroamaro-based Rosso wines and Rosato using the same grape. Salento or Salice Salento is a highly-rated subregion of Puglia for red grapes.
Winemaker notes: In its bouquet, notes of fruits such as cherries alternate with those of fresh-mown grass. There is a pleasant freshness on the palate thanks to smooth tannin.
Analysis
The Primitivo was very impressive at this price point. The wine was balanced with rich fruit flavors, well-integrated tannin and a nice crispness. It was a very easy-drinking wine and paired heavenly with our English coastal cheddar. The Zinfandel was intensely rich, bold, and heavily-bodied with velvet-like tannin. Even at 15.4% there was no heat because of the maceration and skin-contact time.
Nonetheless, both Eddy and I realized drinking much of it would compromise our ability to do the show properly so we concentrated on the Primitivo. The Primitivo will go great with any southern Italian cuisine and has better food-pairing ability than the Zinfandel which would dominate most foods. However, most California Zinfandel lovers will prefer it to the Primitivo and it is a well-made wine.
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