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Rugged. Bold. Controversial. There is no wine varietal that is more American than Zinfandel. Paul Draper, famed winemaker at Ridge Winery, once said "I'm a Cabernet fan, but what do I drink on a daily basis? I'm drinking Zinfandel. A young, hard Cabernet is not sensuous, not delicious. A young Zinfandel is." Introduced to the United States in 1829 by nurseryman George Gibbs who brought cuttings back to the United States from the Imperial Austrian Plan Species Collection, Zinfandel made its way to California in 1852. Prized for its hardiness and adaptability, Zinfandel was brought west by miners who flocked to California during the Gold Rush. The warm conditions and fertile soils of the Sierra Nevada foothills proved to be an ideal landing site for Zinfandel and the vines flourished. By the end of the 19th century, Zinfandel was the most widely planted grape in the state. While tastes have changed and Zinfandel has waned in popularity to a degree, it is still the third most planted grape varietal in California today and accounts for nearly half a million tons of fresh grapes annually.
While Zinfandel’s journey to California is well documented and accepted, where it came from originally had been a topic of considerable debate for decades. American Zinfandel producers and Italian Primitivo producers have been locked in a viticultural war of words about their respective varietals. Zinfandel and Primitivo, both the grape and the vine, are nearly indistinguishable when compared side by side. Italian Primativo producers, hoping to undercut the American Zinfandel market with less expensive Primitivo, claimed that Zinfandel and Primativo are actually the same grape. American Zinfandel producers, hoping to keep their place in the market, claimed the counter. And who was right ? Well, both ! Genetic research conducted through the Viticulture and Enology Department at UC Davis has discovered that the two varietals are extremely similar genetically, however not an exact match. The research also pointed to Crljenak Kaštelanski, a Croatian varietal also known Tribidrag, as the exact genetic equal of Zinfandel and a parent varietal to Primitivo. Despite this, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is currently hearing arguments on whether Primitivo and Zinfandel can be considered synonymous in terms of wine labeling and marketing.
The story of this particular Zinfandel vineyard, known as Aldo’s Vineyard, is just as ripe with controversy and pays homage to the rugged, frontier-blazing reputation of the Zinfandel grape. The vineyard’s namesake, Aldo Biale, was the patricarch of the Napa’s Biale winemaking family and the son of hard-working Italian immigrants. As a child, Aldo worked on the family farm, often brining eggs, white leghorn chickens, and produce into town to sell to customers. As was common for the time and place, Aldo picked up winemaking at an early age and took over the family’s small winemaking operation after his father passed away. While the fruit of the family’s earliest winemaking endeavors were intended for just family and close friends, entrepreneurial Aldo had other ideas. Just a teenager at the time, Aldo stashed away jugs of his homemade Zinfandel wine in his family’s barn and quietly sold it to neighbors without anyone’s knowledge. To keep his backroom business away from prying eyes and ears of family, Aldo developed a code name for the backroom Zinfandel … “Black Chicken.” Aldo’s mother never understood why so many people called the house to order “Black Chicken” because she thought that the white chickens were the tastiest. "Black Chicken" is now the name of the flagship wine in the Biale wine portfolio.
Despite the varietal’s vigor and adaptability, it can also be somewhat cantankerous in the vineyard. Zinfandel clusters contain large berries set closely together which create tight, dense clumps that can hold moisture between the berries creating the ideal conditions for botrytis cinerea, a necrotrophic fungus that leads to bunchrot. Making matters worse, many Zinfandel vineyards are head-trained which limits airflow within the canopy and leads to naturally humid conditions surrounding the clusters. While exacerbated by poorly-timed irrigation, Zinfandel has a natural tendency to ripen unevenly with berries on a single cluster ranging from green and unripe, to perfectly ripe, to raisiny and overripe. Despite these concerns, Zinfandel remains among the hardiest and vigorous varietals in cultivation. This propensity allows vines to regularly reach 75 years in age and over a century on occasion. These aged vineyards, known as “old vine,” are highly sought after because they produce smaller crops of higher quality, better flavor, and even ripeness.
In the winery, Zinfandel is applauded for a unique balancing act. Unlike less assertive varietals like Chardonnay which are a “blank canvas” for winemakers or stronger varietals like Reisling which are strongly defined by growing conditions, Zinfandel is able to equally showcase both the quality of the land on which it was grown as well as the winemaker’s talent and skill. This unique and versatile combination allows for Zinfandel to take on a wide range of styles in the bottle ranging from big and brooding with flavors of plum jam, tobacco, and smoke to lighter and racier offerings reminiscent of raspberry, vanilla, and black pepper. Other common flavors and aromas attributed to Zinfandel include: blackcurrant, cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, raisin, licorice, nettle, oak, cedar, cinnamon, chocolate, coffee, tobacco, musk, mushroom, earth, leather, cigar box, and tar. Because of its ability to reach high sugar levels in the vineyard and therefore high alcohol content in the winery, Zinfandel is also a common component for Port wines as well. Unlike other popular reds like Cabernet Sauvignon which often need years to decades in the bottle to reach their peak drinkability, Zinfandel is best enjoyed young, usually within five years of being vinted.
So, you may ask, what about White Zinfandel ? Despite the common misconception, both traditional red Zinfandel and White Zinfandel are actually made from the very same grape. Aside from a few select grape varietals which have naturally deep colored juice, nearly all red wine grapes have clear to light pink juice when first pressed. The inky, deep red color that most associate with red wine is actually derived from maceration, or direct contact between the crushed grape skins and their juice. Unlike dry red Zinfandel which is allowed to remain "on its skins" during the entire fermentation process, White Zinfandel spends little to no time in contact with its skins and is fermented as if it were a white wine.
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