Zinfandel - THE American Wine

Wait, isn’t Zinfandel the same grape as Italy’s Primitivo? Yes, the DNA of the 2 is identical, and the Zinfandel grape did in fact make its way to the US via Italy, but the reality is that Zinfandel and Primitivo are both clones of the Croatian Crljenak kaštelanski grape, also known as Tribidrag.

So how can you call it an American grape? Zinfandel has been grown in the US nearly 2 centuries, really being America’s choice wine until Prohibition - over 1/3rd of grapes grown in the US during this time were Zinfandel. Following the end of Prohibition, however, these wines largely fell out of favor until the introduction of White Zinfandel in the 1970s, and it wasn’t really until the 1990s that winemakers began to really focus on producing quality Zinfandel wines. Since then it has flourished, particularly in Lodi, Amador County, Sonoma, Paso Robles, and the Sierra Foothills, but you will find it in just about every wine growing region in California. Indeed, today, California is home to roughly 70% of Zinfandel production globally.