Zinfandel

Zinfandel is the all-American grape: big, bold, and brash. Up-front and fruity, it has nothing to hide and everything to say. It's high in alcohol (usually climbing above 15%), low in subtlety, screaming its California motto at you: "Go big or go home." All of this has made Zinfandel a very popular style of wine, its immediate flavours having an easy appeal that's hard to resist.

However, rather like Australian Shiraz, its appeal is also its downside. If you don't want a wine whose alcohol approaches the levels of fortified wine, then avoid Zinfandel. If you don't want a fruit bomb, then give Zinfandel a miss. If you want a structured, balanced wine, then don't stop at the Zinfandel shelf.

My travels around California have confirmed some of those impressions, but also challenged them. It's still nearly always high in alcohol and Zinfandel wouldn't be Zinfandel without its jammy black and blue fruits, but I've discovered plenty of serious wines with structure, depth, and ageability. Maybe because I've come to the wines quite fresh, I've often preferred Napa Zins to Cab Sabs - they're certainly more affordable.

where's it from?

The world came crashing in on the all-American grape in the 1990s when genetic fingerprinting proved that Zinfandel was the same grape as obscure, rustic Primitivo - rather like an American tycoon learning that they were descended from poor Italian immigrants...

It is, of course, impossible for Zinfandel to be an indigeneous American grape - all wine-producing vines are part of the vitis vinifera species which originates from Europe. Although Zinfandel was only known in California, it had to have come from Europe at some point. There are various theories about its origin, but the likelihood is that it was imported from Vienna by one George Gibbs late in the 1820s, making its way to California during the Gold Rush as Zinfandal. The grape itself doesn't originate from Italy, however, but Croatia. There's also a strong chance that Primitivo was imported into Italy by Italians returning home from California.

For all its genetic controversy, Zinfandel is now very much its own grape, grown in California for a hundred and fifty years, with nineteenth-century plantings still in use. During that time it's been soaked in California sunshine, reflecting the dry, dusty Californian terroir as well as time's changing fashions. 

Zinfandel in véraison, Calistoga

what does it taste like?

Due to its hardiness and popularity, Zinfandel is grown in areas that are too hot because it can cope with that heat and is overproduced because it has no problem providing high yields. That's where the image of Zinfandel as jammy and obvious comes from. The high alcohol has risen as the trend for rich, alcoholic wines has grown, although, as with other styles of wine in California, levels of alcohol are beginning to settle.

Whatever the style of Zinfandel, the black and blue fruits should be immediate, but serious examples of Zinfandel use American oak for up to two years, giving the wine real structure and balance, as well as adding a peppery spiciness.

There is also a phenomenon called White Zinfandel, which has further damaged the reputation of the grape if not producers' finances. Bob Trinchero of Sutter Home in Napa launched White Zinfandel in the 1970s and saw sales mushroom in the 80s; this resulted in increased plantings of the grape, which is one positive outcome. White Zinfandel is pink, sweet, and a tiny bit fizzy.

wines

Without doubt the greatest producer of Zinfandel in California is Ridge. Although they are based in Santa Cruz, their finest Zinfandels come from Lytton Springs and Geyserville in northern Sonoma. The best Napa and Sonoma Zinfandels come from high altitude areas that are hot during the day but cool at night, allowing the grape to ripen at a slow, steady pace. I haven't visited Ridge yet, but the Lytton Springs is one my favourite Californian wines, arguably besting even their own famous Cabernets. It's a great example of a big, powerful, unabashed wine that is still classically balanced. Here are some of the many Zinfandels I've tasted over the last two months.

Saddleback Old Vine Zinfandel 2012 ($40)

Most of the grapes for this wine are grown in hot Calistoga, the best area of the Napa Valley for Zinfandel. Like the rest of Saddleback's wines, this is a serious, oaky, tannic wine, but softened by the Zinfandel fruits (plums and blueberries). The only Saddleback red to be aged in American oak, the wine has distinct vanilla, chocolate, and coconut aromas, and is very spicy on the mouth with pepper and liquorice. Still young, with plenty of ageing potential.

Regusci Zinfandel 2010 ($60)

Regusci are the only winery in Stags Leap AVA to plant their own Zinfandel - there just isn't enough money compared to Cabernet Sauvignon to justify planting the grape in the heart of Napa Valley. The intensity of the wine is quite different from those grown at higher altitudes: besides the black and blue fruits, the nose is toasty, oaky, and peppery, with a spicy, dusty palate - it's the dust that marks it out as from the lower reaches of the valley.

Nichelini Reserve Zinfandel 2010 ($41)

Nichelini, Chiles Valley

Yet another old Italian family still using original plantings of the vine - the family have been making wine in the same spot since the 1890s, including through Prohibition. Nichelini are based high in Chiles Valley, where altitude again affects the character of the wine. This Zinfandel is not shy: from 2010, when an unexpected heat spike overripened the grapes, the wine comes to a whopping 16.1% ABV. It's big, spicy, and alcoholic: the pepper, liquorice, and alcohol leave the tongue burning. It may mellow out after a few years, but even after four it's a bit too much. Nichelini also make a Primitivo, which is a bit more mellow (although it was from the cooler 2011 vintage), its fruits more chocolatey; an interesting comparison.

Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel 2012 ($38) & Home Ranch Zinfandel 2012 ($58)

Seghesio are a Sonoma producer who have made their name growing Italian grape varieties - they also make wines from Arneis, Vermentino, Barbera, Sangiovese, Aglianco, and Petite Sirah (a French grape known in France as Durif but often grown in California by Italian immigrants). Zinfandel was first planted by founder Edoardo Seghesio in 1895 on the Home Ranch vineyard, plantings which are still used today. Besides Home Ranch, Seghesio make several Zinfandels, all from vineyards throughout Sonoma County. My favourite is the Rockpile, from a small AVA where the vines must be above the fog level, attracting intense sunshine during the day but subject to cool nights - perfect for Zinfandel. It's a stony, floral wine, with subtle fruits on the nose; on the palate, it's more aggressive and oaky, with drying, slightly bitter tannins. Seghesio's premium wine, from the original Home Ranch vineyard, is serious, almost like a Cabernet Sauvignon on the nose. The palate is concentrated and complex, juicy, oaky, and spicy, with a particularly peppery finish.

Joseph Swan Stellwagen Zinfandel 2008 ($30)

Although Russian River Valley is best known for its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, it produces intense Zinfandels from select slopes. Joseph Swan make several single-vineyards Zins. The last ever vintage from the Stellwagen vineyard, this is a fruity, savoury wine, with vanilla, anise, and roses and violets adding a refined elegance.

When visiting the Joseph Swan winery, I couldn't resist buying one of their Zinfandels from 2001, for just $35. This is the first mature Zinfandel I've tasted: the rich black fruits were there, but were more dried and overladen with leather and game. Although Joseph Swan wines are unusual and generally come into their own with a bit of age, this was proof that Zinfandel is ageworthy, and not just a young, fruity wine to be drunk straightaway.

I've been tasting Zinfandel throughout my visits to different California wineries - more than any grape, it grows successfully in most areas. I've already reviewed the following wines on previous blogs from Laura Michael, Lone Madrone, and Pomar Junction.

From being somewhat sceptical of Zinfandel upon my arrival in California, I now look forward to tasting each winery's style and I'm disappointed if one isn't made. It's produced in different ways, from fruity and fun to oaky and serious, and you're never quite sure what you're going to get. As ever in California, terroir is key: it's at its best in high areas with significant variations in temperature from day to night, and it reflects the dusty intensity of California's summer heat. Zinfandel has so won me over as an expression of California, that the Saddleback Zin is going to feature at my wedding next week alongside Chardonnay and Rioja. I can think of no greater compliment than that.

Homebrewing

For all the writing, talking, and drinking about the various forms of alcoholic drinks, we spend too little time thinking about how they're made. Knowing the production process for a drink, whether it's wine, beer, or spirits, should inform our understanding and appreciation of it.

With this in mind, I attended a weekend course at UC Davis, California's leading institution devoted to the study and production of drink. I've always wanted to make my own beer, but have been daunted by all the equipment needed - pots, kettles, wort chillers, tubes, false floors, fermenters, and bottles - as well as lacking the space to allow the beautifully stinky aromas of fermenting beer to develop away from the living area. Even if I never get round to making my own beer - and I hope that I do manage it - this was a great opportunity to understand better the various styles of beer I enjoy drinking.

sanitation

we spent the first hour of a sleepy Saturday morning being told the importance of cleanliness and sanitation (two very different things). Unclean or unsanitised equipment will cause your beer to be infected with dirty organisms which will go on to spoil your beer and make it undrinkable. As clearly important as this is, most likely many homebrewers ignore this aspect of beermaking.

grains

hops may currently be the fashionable ingredient when discussing the flavours of beer, but having the chance to smell and taste different grains I found them to be more important. They are, after all, the base ingredient, imparting flavour and colour to the eventual beer. Most grains used are malted barley - barley is the most suitable grain for beer, for it has a husk which means the grain won't get too doughy in the mash (likewise, barley isn't suitable for bread-making because of that husk). There are also "speciality" grains which give distinct aromas to the beer and should only be used in small amounts - for instance, chocolate and peated malts or roasted barley. Dark malts only need to be used in very small quantities to give colour.

the mash

the mash

is when warm water (between 60 and 75°C) is added to the grains to break down the insoluble starches into fermentable sugars. Different temperatures result in different profiles; lower temperatures break down "beta enzymes" for a lower body, while higher temperatures do so with "alpha enzymes" for a fuller body. Playing around with these temperatures, for instance in the "step mash" when you gradually increase the temperature of the water, creates different styles and degrees of complexity.

water

95% of a beer is water; some of the most famous styles of beer have developed due to the nature of the local water. Burton-on-Trent, home of Bass and other darkish ales in the Midlands, has particularly hard water. In contrast, Pilsen, from which light, pale Pilsner comes, has extremely soft water. The homebrewer wishing to replicate renowned styles can alter the water by adding "brewing salts," such as calcium, carbonate, magnesium, sodium, and sulphate.

the wort

is the liquid drained off from the mash, full of grain flavours and that distinctly beery smell. This is then boiled, which is when hops are added.

hops

when I started drinking beer, I could barely have named a hop. This may be because English hops have a low flavour profile, contributing a light bitterness and body to the beer. Hop flavours come from the amino acids present in the plant: a traditional English hop like Fuggles has what is called an Amino Acid (AA) rating of 3.5-5.5%, while a modern North American hop such as Chinook or Citra have levels of well over 10%. Smelling through a series of hops made clear just how much stronger North American hops are compared to their English or German counterparts; Australian (e.g. Galaxy) and New Zealand (Nelson Sauvin) hops take the aroma and bitterness levels another notch higher.

adding hops to the wort

bitterness

is measured by IBUs (International Bitterness Units), one of the few internationally recognised and universally applied forms of measurement. The maximum level of bitterness that a human can discern is 90 IBUs; coincidentally, the physical limit of bitterness is 90 IBUs. Any beer that claims to have more than 90 IBUs is lying, taking advantage of the fashion for high levels of bitterness.

fermentation

the most obvious aspect of making a beer. The wort is put into fermenter vessels, with a small amount of exposure to oxygen to get the fermentation going when yeast is added. The fermenting beer is moved into a bottle or a storage container where the second part of the fermentation continues with a little added sugar and yeast.

yeasts

for a homebrewer, the best way to add yeast is in its liquid form, although some brewers use yeasts they've filched from a local winery or a strain they've taken from their favourite beers which have been bottle conditioned. As with wine, the most important yeast is Saccharomyces while the most dangerous yeast is Brettanomyces; conversely, this is the most significant yeast for the production of sour beers. We were wisely advised to use a separate set of brewing equipment if we wish to make sours.

styles of beer

in the US, there are 23 specific styles of beer allowed by the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program), beyond which 90 sub-categories are recognised for the Great American Beer Festival. To enter a beer into an accredited competition, a homebrewer has to meet the guidelines exactly or face disqualification. Such categories allow homebrewers to replicate famous recipes and stick to tried and tested parameters, but I think doing your own thing and experimenting would be much more satisfying.

metric system

it baffles me that the Americans continue to use measurements like cups, quarts, pounds, gallons, ounces, and Farenheit. I thought I was just the lone European struggling to come terms with these measurements, but the young brewer taking us through the practice of making a beer scratched his head reading the tutor's recipe: "The metric system is just so much easier." A student cautiously agreed, "It does make more sense." Yes, it does.

how many gallons?

This was an intensive overview of the beermaking process, delving into the history of beer, emphasising the importance of cleanliness and good preparation, and investigating the effect ingredients have on the finished product. I now just have to put all that theory into practice.

Play the Sonoma Pinot

It's easy to stereotype California, which makes it so exciting to be confounded by those stereotypes. 'California is hot and uniform; its Pinot Noirs are as a result big, jammy, and shouldn't be made.' Although there's still much Pinot Noir being made which is too fruity and unsubtle, it's clear that California is increasingly capable of producing Pinots that can compete on an international level. This is because California is certainly not hot and uniform, but consists of a series of microclimates that winemakers are seriously exploring with exciting results.

where?

To give an example of the different climates of California that don't conform to geography, my one favourite area for Pinot Noir has long been around Santa Barbara - less than two hours north of Los Angeles. Here the coastal AVAs of Santa Ynez and Santa Rita are cooled dramatically by coastal fogs to the point that Santa Rita is the coolest AVA in California. I haven't visited Santa Barbara yet, something I hope to rectify.

Now Sonoma, north of San Francisco, is attracting attention for its Pinots, as well as its Chardonnays. Sonoma folk make a big play on how cool a climate Sonoma County has, in order to emphasise the area's suitability for the classic Burgundy grapes. Compared to Napa, it is cooler - the ocean fog isn't interrupted by mountains - but it has still reached more than 30ºC when I've visited in recent weeks. However, the temperature drops sharply at night, and the fog lingers in the morning - and the land by the ocean is particularly cool.

Sonoma is divided into several AVAs, which can be confusing. Sonoma Coast AVA is the source for great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, including for Napa producers, but it extends much further inland than it should. Russian River Valley AVA has also been extended so that it flows into the Sonoma Coast AVA as well as encompassing the small Green Valley AVA. Further to the north are Dry Creek Valley AVA, where some great, intense Zinfandel is made. Beyond Sonoma county to the north are Anderson Valley AVA, home of some of the best vineyards for Pinot Noir, and Mendocino, a diverse area with some particularly cool spots for Pinot.

Many of the best producers are located in Russian River Valley, even if they source some of their grapes from other AVAs, often from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County to the north. It's a beautiful, secluded area, with roughly laid, winding roads tracking through forests and fields. The major city is Santa Rosa; smaller towns, with tasting rooms and inviting restaurants, are hippyish Sebastopol and self-consciously well-to-do Healdsburg.

producers

Joseph Swan

Joseph Swan, established in the late 1960s, is one of California's great maverick wineries. The GPS takes you elsewhere and if you do manage to find the winery it's likely to be in a state of pleasing confusion. The wines, now made by Swan's son-in-law Rod Berglund, manage to be both weird, funky, and slightly oxidised yet hypnotic, enticing, and unforgettable.

There are several single-vineyard Pinot Noirs made, all exceptional and, despite the purpose of this blog to highlight the characteristics of Sonoma Pinot Noir, completely individual and like nothing else. Saralee's 2011 ($39) is a dark, intense wine that powers its red fruits through with peppery spices and savoury notes. The Great Oak 2010 ($36) is more floral and perfumed and less spicy, its fruits more curranty. The Trenton View 2011 ($38) is more of a classic Pinot, with strawberry aromas; intense but nuanced, with a dry, peppery finish. The Cuvée de Trois 2011 ($30) is a combination of these three styles: intense, weighty, slightly difficult, but full of delicious berries.

Littorai

Littorai have recently been receiving a lot of attention as the leading light of the "New California," although winemaker Ted Lemon has been making wine since the 1980s. He studied at the University of Dijon, where he gained an interest in wine; by his early 20s, he was Burgundy's first ever American winemaker. He returned to the US to work in Napa, where he became disillusioned with conventional winemaking practices which led to an interest in biodynamics. With his wife, he started looking for the perfect site to make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; although they began making their own wine in 1993, it wasn't until 2003 that they bought their own property.

Littorai are biodynamic in all but name, with flowers, plants, and beehives to maintain a flourishing ecosystem; so particular is the set-up that the bees are a specific pollinating only, non-stinging, and non-honey producing species. Production is small and hands-on - when I visited, the first grapes were coming in from the harvest, overseen personally by Ted Lemon.

Most of the Pinot Noirs are single-vineyard, but the Sonoma Coast 2013 (c.$40), which has just been bottled, is a combination of their vineyards from the second pressing of the grapes. It's a friendly, forward Pinot, with tart raspberries and cherries and a slight savoury feel. The Savoy Vineyard 2012 ($65) is from Anderson Valley; smoky, toasty, with soft, ripe, red fruits, and white pepper and sage on the savoury finish. Haven Vineyard on Sonoma Coast was the couple's first purchase in 2001; the 2012 ($90) is earthier and gamier, with more gripping tannins, spicier with a lightly chewy finish. My favourite of the wines I tasted was from Hirsch Vineyard, which has become one of the leading vineyards in Russian River Valley for Pinot Noir. Littorai were the first to bottle from the vineyard in 1994, leading to a longstanding relationship. The 2012 ($70) has an interesting combination of smoke and earth with rose petals. The tannins are bigger and chewier: this is quite a big, aggressive wine for a Pinot Noir, but well structured and firm.

Ant Hill Farms

Located on a converted dry fruits factory site in Dry Creek Valley, Ant Hill have been going for over ten years. It's just three friends who work in the wine industry, together making single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and some (excellent) Syrah. Like all makers of Pinot Noir, everything they do is very particular - hand-picked and -processed grapes, vineyards fermented separately, grapes cold soaked before fermentation to extract flavours, 40% of the grapes fermented in whole clusters - a figure which has gone up, to get different tannins from the stems - with a slow, steady MLF after pressing which doesn't finish until spring.

Comptche Ridge 2012 ($50) comes from a northerly vineyard in Mendocino, just six miles inland. This is cool climate without a doubt, and it's reflected in the wine: austere, earthy, medicinal, and mineral, a drying finish offset only by a high acidity. The fruits are very reserved. Peters Vineyard reflects the confusing nature of Sonoma's vineyards. Just southwest of Sebastopol, it's at the intersection of Russian River Valley, Green Valley, and Sonoma Coast; it's also part of Sebastopol Hills and in the Petaluma Gap, through which cooling winds blow - both of these are potential future AVAs. Again, this is cool climate, for it was once thought too cold to grow grapes; instead, the land was used for dairy and apples. The vineyard is near Littorai, where the Gold Ridge soils are light, fine-grained, fluffy, and porous. The wine ($55) itself is more forgiving than the Comptche Ridge, with more apparent red fruits, a savoury Pinot smell, and nice spices on the palate. Tina Marie Vineyard is in Russian River Valley and on my visit some of the grapes from this vintage were already undergoing cold soak in the unglamorous plastic bins. This is a friendlier climate, producing smokier wines; the wine ($55) is chewier and jammier, with more candied fruits.

As with many of Sonoma's Pinots, all of Ant Hill Farm's wines are food-friendly; I was given a bottle of the Demuth Vineyard 2012 ($50), from Anderson Valley, whose spicy, floral, gamey aromas complemented perfectly the duck cassoulet at Grace's Table in Napa a couple of weeks later.

Cartograph

A brief visit to their tasting room in Healdsburg introduced me to this winery's superb Pinot Noirs. Once again, there is a concentration on the characters of different vineyards. Perli Vineyard is 600m high in Mendocino Ridge AVA, where the vineyards have to be above 300m, above the fog line and with plenty of exposure to the sun on the steep slopes. A light, upfront wine at first, the 2011 ($48) has a surprising grainy, gripping, bitter mouth: a good introduction to the winery's approach to creating wines that are delicate and full of depth and complexity at the same time. In contrast, the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($38), from two vineyards, Leonardo Julio and Floodgate, is exposed to fog, creating an earthy, almost stinky wine, with rose petals and raspberries and a dusty, dry finish. The Floodgate Pinot Noir 2011 ($40) is much darker and denser, with blackberries and blueberries as well as strawberries; producing what the previous wine was hinting at, with subtly gripping tannins, a smoky, barnyard feel, and a lightly spicy finish.

Senses

A winery that's just three years old and still very much finding its way: there's only a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir currently produced. Like Ant Hill Farms, coincidentally, Senses are three friends making wines on the side from their day jobs. Again, it's a hands-on job, though they've been helped by one of the three's family owning a farm with a disused vineyard, which they now get their Pinot Noir from. They've also received quite a bit of help from neighbouring wineries Red Car and Dutton Goldfield - Sonoma is a definitely an area with a strong community feel. The 2012 Pinot (c.$40) is a clear indication that the winery has lots of promise: red fruits that are developing a darker texture as the wine ages, with a long, spicy finish. The enthusiasm that the Senses team express for their Pinot Noir in particular is both justified and characteristic of every winemaker in Sonoma: the wines are still unknown, full of promise, and at the start of an exciting future.

For all that Sonoma and its various AVAs are producing great Pinot Noir, each winery - and each wine - has its own distinct character, expressive of philosophy, vineyard, and vintage. This makes the area difficult to define and pin down, but that's how it should be; already Pinot aficionados - who are a picky, geeky bunch - are seeking out their favourite vineyards and wineries. This is an area that's going to get more and more interesting and is one to follow.