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Zinfandel: What's not to like? Reflecting on a glass of Eos 1997 Paso Robles Zinfandel from California over dinner in a restaurant the other night, it occurred to me that Zin is a wine that even people who don't think they like wine can enjoy; yet it's interesting enough to please wine enthusiasts as well. A big wine with a big personality, it's rarely described as "subtle" or "elegant," but even those of us who tend to favor wines in the European style find it hard to turn down a glass of Zinfandel. A quick refresher on the grape: It's often called an "American" grape because it's predominantly grown in the United States, but Zin - like many American citizens - traces its roots to the Old World. Historians have found traces of Zinfandel as a table grape grown in the eastern U.S. well before the Civil War; it has been grown in California since Gold Rush days. But it clearly came from Europe, and for a long time, grape scientists believed Zin was a descendant of the Primitivo grape grown in Southern Italy. Further research and DNA studies now suggest that it's the other way around, though, and that Primitivo is probably the descendant of Zinfandel cuttings brought to Italy from the U.S. more than a century ago. DNA testing indicates that Croatia's Plavac Mali is another cousin. It seems likely, though, that the ancestor of Zinfandel originally grew somewhere in the Balkans. Be that as it may, Zin's fame is spreading. Long available only in the U.S., it's now widely exported, and a number of Australian producers are growing it now with persuasive results. There's really no wine quite like Zinfandel ... but make sure the wine in your glass is red. "White Zinfandel," a sweet, pink wine made by extracting the juice from Zinfandel grapes while limiting exposure to the color-bearing skins, simply doesn't successfully carry the big, ripe flavors of the real thing. If you would like to comment on this week's subject, you're welcome to post a message on our interactive Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, http://www.wineloverspage.com/cgi-bin/sb/index.cgi?fn=1. Or write me at wine@wineloverspage.com. I regret that the growing circulation of the "Wine Advisor" makes it difficult for me to reply individually to every note. But I'll respond to as many as I can and do my best to address specific questions. Please be assured that all your input helps me do a better job of writing about wine. Please tell your wine-loving friends about The 30 Second Wine Advisor, and invite them to register for their own free subscription at http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor.
An approachable Zinfandel 
Burgess 1998 Russian River Valley Zinfandel ($18.99)Very dark reddish purple, almost black, with typical Zinfandel aromas of blackberry jam with a slight sappy, stemmy note that's not unpleasant. Big and jammy berrylike fruit is shaped by lemony acidity in the flavor, which is a bit warm at 13.5% alcohol but not as stunningly alcoholic as some bigger Zins. (Sept. 22, 2001) FOOD MATCH: Zin's natural companion is charcoal-grilled meat, but this fruity example went surprisingly well with a meatless alternative, a summer salad of wheat berries and walnuts in a light tomato vinaigrette, in which the sweet whole-grain flavors seemed to bring up the wine's already forward fruit.
WINERY WEBSITE: http://www.burgesscellars.com/.
Is it "rude" to jot tasting notes? But some of us just can't help it. How about you? Assuming that you normally keep written records of the wines you taste, this week's Wine Lovers' Voting Booth asks, "when dining with friends who are not especially interested in wine, do you still take notes?" I hope you'll drop by the Voting Booth, http://www.wineloverspage.com/votebooth, and let us know where you stand.
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Vol. 3, No. 36, Sept. 24, 2001
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