In the wine world, it’s a common refrain.  Take an obscure, underappreciated grape from its ancestral Old World home, dare to replant it in a nurturing New World wine region, and within a century or two the grape becomes synonymous with its new locale.  Varieties so connected to their new digs in fact, that many fans would honestly assume that they were always part of these places.  Want proof?  Here’s just a few that fit the profile:  Malbec in Argentina, Carmenere in Chile, and Zinfandel in California.

Malbec and Carmenere, regarded as lesser grapes in the Bordeaux, are now lauded as all-stars in South America.  Malbec’s rise in Argentina was meteoric, while Carmenere in Chile was slightly less so. In comparison, Zinfandel’s evolution was a bit more enigmatic. 

The grape that would eventually become Zinfandel in California, actually originated near the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, as a little-known variety called Crljenak Kastelanski.  DNA testing done about a decade ago confirms this grape as an exact match to Zinfandel.  From Croatia, vine cuttings were transported to Vienna and then to the Eastern US circa 1820, where it acquired the Zinfandel name (confused with an Austrian variety called Zierfandler).  By the 1840’s the first Zinfandel wines were being made in California.  After its initial success however, Zinfandel was hindered by Prohibition during the 20^th century and it wasn’t really until the 1970’s that it began to attract serious attention.

Zinfandel is third most widely produced grape after Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in the Golden State.  The majority of Zin there is, of course, White Zinfandel.  Take a drive through the vast tract of commercial vineyard space that is the San Joaquin Valley and you will see just how important White Zin is to the California wine industry and its biggest brands.

However, the best Zinfandel grapes from the choicest old-vine vineyard sites are destined to be made into serious red wine.  Red Zin typically produces full-bodied, juicy dry wines with heady black fruit and mesmerizing bouquets.  The wines often display subtle regional differences too due to different micro-climates, exposures and soil-types.

Now for me, any conversation about great red Zin begins and ends with Ridge Vineyards and the distinctive Zinfandels produced by all-star winemaker Paul Draper.  Several years back, I had the pleasure to meet him at our office in Orlando.  To paraphrase Robert Louis Steveson, his wines are nothing short of “bottled poetry.”

We’ve recently received our allocation of the magnificent 2011 releases from Ridge including the ’11 Geyserville, Paso Robles and East Bench bottlings.  Take it from me, they’re all delicious!

Jim Greeley, SW FL Wine Supervisor. Follow me on Twitter @abcwinejimg