 |
Zinfandel is bottled by more than 500 producers
worldwide. It is grown primarily in California,
but also in Oregon, Washington, Australia, South
Africa, Brazil, Chile and Italy. Unique among
leading varietal grapes, Zinfandel established
its reputation in California, not Europe. When
California vineyards were replanted, after being
destroyed by phylloxera in the late 1800’s,
Zinfandel became the leading varietal in the production
of red wine blends. By the 1880’s, it was
the most extensively planted red grape in California.
Primitivo, a wine originating in Italy’s
Puglia region, is often referred to as a cousin
of Zinfandel.
Zinfandel is a versatile grape that can produce
wines from off-dry blush wines (such as White
Zinfandel) to full-bodied red table wines and
late harvest sweet port-like dessert wines. At
its best, Zinfandel produces dry, complex red
table wines that compete with the other major
red wine varieties. Zinfandel can offer a blackberry
or raspberry aroma and flavor, a spicy character,
or even a jammy flavor.
|
