The Wine Club · Grape Discovery Masterclass

Zinfandel

California's grape. Except it isn'tDalmatia, Croatia · Ancient — genetically identical to Tribidrag, a Croatian variety documented in Dalmatia since the 15th century, brought to America in the early 19th century where it was renamed and claimed as California's own

The Origin Story

Zinfandel spent over a century pretending to be American. It arrived in the United States in the early 19th century — the precise route is disputed, possibly via Austrian nurseries, possibly via Italian immigrants who knew it as Primitivo — and it found in California a climate so perfectly suited to its character that the grape and the state became inseparable in the popular imagination.

Zinfandel was the wine of the Gold Rush, the everyday red of California's early settlers, and eventually the source of one of the wine industry's most successful accidents: White Zinfandel, the sweet pink wine that introduced millions of Americans to wine in the 1970s and 80s and nearly destroyed the grape's serious reputation in the process.

The identity question was settled by DNA analysis in the 1990s. Zinfandel is genetically identical to Tribidrag — a variety documented in Dalmatia, on the Croatian coast, since the 15th century. The same grape also grows in southern Italy as Primitivo, where it produces dark, structured reds of genuine complexity. The grape is ancient, Mediterranean, and Croatian by origin. California just gave it its most famous name.

What California also gave it was its most compelling expression. The old vine Zinfandels of Sonoma, Lodi, and the Sierra Foothills — grown on gnarled, head-trained vines that are sometimes over a century old — produce wines of extraordinary concentration and character: inky, spiced, and deeply fruited, with a wild bramble quality that no other grape replicates. The White Zinfandel era is largely forgotten by serious wine drinkers. What remains is one of California's most distinctive and genuinely exciting reds — a Croatian grape that found its greatest expression on the other side of the world.

Tasting Profile

BodyFullAcidityMedium

BlackberryDried CherryBlack CurrantBlack PepperCinnamonDark Chocolate

Zinfandel produces full-bodied reds of bold, exuberant character — blackberry and bramble fruit, a distinctive wild spice quality, dark chocolate richness on the mid-palate, and a warm, generous finish that reflects the grape's love of heat and sunshine. The tannins are moderate, the acidity medium, and the alcohol tends to run high — a grape that ripens unevenly and rewards growers who manage the canopy carefully.

At its best, from old vines with genuine age and concentration, it delivers a depth and complexity that sits comfortably alongside far more celebrated red varieties. It is not a subtle grape. It does not try to be. What it offers instead is generosity, warmth, and a character so distinctively its own that nothing else in the cellar quite resembles it.

In Comparison

If you like

Syrah / Shiraz

Savory and peppery in the Northern Rhône, opulent and dark-fruited in Australia — same grape, completely different result depending on where and how it is grown. Both styles reward knowing the difference.

→

Try

Zinfandel

More opulent and jammy than Shiraz at its boldest — blackberry, baking spice, and a rich warming finish. Maximum fruit, maximum spice, no apologies.

This is your lechon kawali wine. The bold fruit stands up to the crackling skin and rendered fat, the spice mirrors the char, and the warmth of the wine matches the richness of the dish. In Sonoma they pour Zinfandel with slow-smoked pulled pork — the same dark fruit, the same insistence on fat and fire. Also exceptional with beef mechado, slow-braised pork ribs, and anything cooked low and slow over charcoal.