Comments on: A Question About Zinfandel

By: John Cesano

John Cesano — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:28:19 +0000

Years ago, I did a tasting in Chicago, pouring massively awarded red wines, wines that took at least a gold at at least 4 competitions. I ended up sharing wines with some producers from Bordeaux who matched me nearly bottle for bottle. We drank Cabernet, St Emilion, Merlot, Pomerol, and loved them for all for their quality, their similarities and their differences. When I poured them the Zinfandel these French wine producers had no frame of reference. It wasn’t like a Bordeaux, it wasn’t like a Burgundy. It wasn’t like anything they had ever tasted. I poured them a varietal I grew up with, I was crushing Zinfandel grapes for wine when I was 12. The Zinfandel I was pouring for them was a great bottle, from one of the most highly acclaimed makers of Zinfandel; I loved this wine. My new French friends did not. They preferred wines that were from grapes they knew. Sadly, they were somewhat too bound by a desire for the comfortably familiar, the safe, the standard., the same, the old, to enjoy something new and every bit as good, but different, than the things they were used to.

The biggest and best Zinfandel tasting, a whole weekend of events really, is next weekend. I’m running a contest, giving away tickets to it to two readers of my wine blog, and I will write about a couple of the events after it. Check in, and you can read about my favorite Zins of the year after I hit the Grand Zinfandel Tasting at ZAP.
http://johncesano.wordpress.com

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:02:59 +0000

Also Christina, great idea on the Primitivo, I was actually thinking of comparing the Zinfandel to a couple of native Portuguese varietals to see if I can find a common ground there. I have to wait until I get my hands on a reasonable Zinfandel first though…

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:51:35 +0000

Thanks Christina! I can empathise with your frustration on searching for wine from your home country. I am from Australia. Although there are hundres of Australian wines around in Europe, the ones I would like to share with friends are usually from smaller wineries, who are doing great quality inventive wines. These are almost impossible to find, and if I do find one, then they are always over-priced. As Chris B (too many Chris’) noted, there is a bit of a “buzz” about Zinfandel, do you think it is a gap in the market? Would a few more good 20 euro/18 pond Zinfandel’s sell well?

By: Christina Pickard

Christina Pickard — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:20:09 +0000

Ah such a shame your first experience with Zinfandel wasn’t a positive one! I am an American who has lived in Britain for 8 years. I work in the wine industry and my frustration over the lack of decent North American wines over here is ongoing. Zinfandel can be a wonderful variety (and many Brits seem to know it). Like most varieties, if done poorly, then yes it will not be pleasant. But even a mediocre Zin can be a great match with pizza, red sauces, and stews–it’s always very fruit forward (of course it is, it’s ‘New World’!) but brambly and a bit spicy too. To Chris B.: Cline Zinfandel is NOT a good representative of Zins. (Cline’s ‘Ancient Vines’ is decent, and so is their pinot gris though) When choosing a Zin (if you have any choice) look out for ones made in Northern Sonoma, like the Russian River Valley, where it’s cooler and the grape it at its most expressive. I would recommend Seghesio’s Zinfandel. The cheapest I’ve found it for is £18 (their Old Vine Zin is even better but you’ll pay for it!) but it’s American and unfortunately because of the tax/shipping regulations, cheap GOOD American wine is almost impossible to come by in this country. Another fun ‘test’, is to compare a Zinfandel with a Primitivo from Southern Italy. They’re the same grape, but made totally differently. Ok there’s my two (or ten) cents! –winewithchristina

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:40:53 +0000

Thanks for the reply Chris. I agree there is a demand for Zinfandel in Europe. You are right the Oz Clarke/James May program could have a lot to do with it. I have talked to a few people on the subject recently, some Americans living in Europe, some people like yourself who are in retail and some wine loving Europeans; we each come to a similar conclusion though. The grape varietal is good when done well, the problem is finding a good example of it without paying far too much for it in Europe is almost impossible. I hope my friend comes through with a good example as I said above.

By: Chris Broholm

Chris Broholm — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:25:46 +0000

I work in a wine store in Denmark, Europe and we honestly don’t have too many Zinfandels in our store either. It’s a decent grape varietal that can provide amazing wine, but we only have 2-4 different of them, despite our massive selection.

But! I have experienced an increased buzz about zinfandel after James May and Oz Clarke’s wine tour of California, where they talked very warmly of Zinfandel.

We carry a Zinfandel called Cline, is that a good bottle?

By: Chris Metcalfe

Chris Metcalfe — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:12:06 +0000

Good news! A friend of mine (from San Fransico, but living in Europe) said he can find a bottle of Zinfandel at a local wine shop. He agrees with Bruce above that they are hard to come across though. My friend has offered to open a bottle with me. I will bring a similarly priced bottle of Portuguese wine and see what we can conclude. Whatever the result I am sure it will be a good evening!

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