The Zinfandel Mission

“Brave are we who are planting the old vines of tomorrow.” -Jonathan Lachs

It was said tongue in cheek, but this is exactly what Jonathan Lachs and other Zinfandel growers are doing. Owner and winemaker of Cedarville Vineyards along with Susan Marks, Jonathan has been planting his future old vines since the winery was founded in 1997. The winery and vineyards are located in Fair Play in El Dorado County at an elevation of 2500 feet. It is that elevation that gives the Cedarville Zinfandel its structure and acidity. It is the age of the vines that gives the wine its rich, intense flavor.

The Cedarville 2015 Zinfandel has aromas of rich red and black fruit with notes of pepper and spice. It is well structured and elegant, not an ‘in-your-face’ Zin, but a graceful, interesting Zin, one that could age.

Zinfandel is considered one of ‘America’s grapes,’ even though it is from the vitus vinifera species, the European species of grapes. In other countries, however, Zinfandel is not embraced as a single varietal the way it is here in the U.S.  America has embraced Zinfandel, (known as Crljenak Kastelanski in Croatia, its country of origin, and called Primitivo in Italy where it is also grown)  as its own. However, for most of their American history, these grapes have not been treated as great or noble grapes. There are a number of winemakers who would like to change that.

According to Jake Bilbro, owner and winemaker of Limerick Lane Wines in Healdsburg in Sonoma County, there are four misconceptions about Zinfandel that are holding back the wine’s reputation. Misconception number one is that all Zinfandels have residual sugar. The more elegant Zins will be fermented dry. ‘Zinfandel only pairs with Barbeque’ is the second misconception. More and more winemakers are making elegant, structured wines that will pair well with lots of dishes. And not all Zinfandels are necessarily fruit-forward and lacking structure. These are misconceptions numbers three and four. Many Zinfandel vineyards are grown in warm climates, but more and more winemakers are growing Zin in vineyards that are at high altitude or in cooler climates. This is what will give the wine its structure and subdue its fruit-forwardness.

The 1910 Block Zinfandel from Limerick Lane is made from grapes from a vineyard planted in 1910. The vineyard is located in the northeast corner of the Russian River Valley. The wine has the intensity of old vine fruit, blackberry, and spice with a lean acidity from the cool nights of the region. Its elegance bucks all the misconceptions that Jake Bilbro has set out to overcome.

Zinfandel has been grown in the United States for over 150 years. It has truly become America’s grape. And as America’s wine tastes have become more sophisticated and elegant, so has America’s Zinfandel.

Dinner at Spenker Winery

Founded in 1869 as a train stop for the Central Pacific Railroad, Lodi began as a farming community known for wheat and watermelons. Lodi was also known, early on for grapes. Since the 19^th century Lodi has moved from the Tokay grape to the Zinfandel grape. Home to over 80 wineries and a downtown bursting with fine restaurants, Lodi presents itself with the sophistication of a city in the charm of a small town. At its heart, Lodi is still a farming community.

Chuck Spenker is a 3rd generation grower and Lodi farmer. His farm, Spenker Winery is located just west of downtown Lodi where he grows Petite Sirah, Muscat and Zinfandel. Dinner at Spenker Winery with the Spenker family includes not only their wines but their farm-made goat cheese, which was fresh and creamy and all the more tasty having met the goats  before dinner. Every goat is named, and every name fit, especially Shenanigans a mischievous character indeed.  

Though there are several things produced at Spenkers, it is the Zinfandel for which the winery and Lodi are best known. “Zinfandel has changed the way wine is made,” says Chuck Spenker. Because of its structure, Zinfandel is a grape that can withstand a longer hang time, especially in Lodi where the Delta breeze and cool nighttime temperatures maintain the natural acidity of the grape. A longer hang time produces a wine that is big enough to stand on its own. It can be enjoyed without food. But Chuck does believe in pairing his wines. According to Chuck Spenker you should always ‘pair your wine with your friends.’

Lost in Lodi

Lodi California is in the San Joaquin Valley. The San Joaquin Valley is known for its jug wines. I will never drink a San Joaquin Valley wine. It’s a good thing I didn’t know that Lodi was in the SJ Valley when I drank that Cameron Hughes Lot #160 last night. Otherwise, I may not have known how truly delicious it was. It’s a Zinfandel with a nose of dirt and cherries. The taste was cherry spice with a long tannic finish. There were many flavors mingling in and out with each sip. With each inhale I felt lost in a lush, viney forest that was filled with berries and wet earth. This is a rich, delicious wine.Cameron Hughes is not a vintner. He is a negociant. He buys up expensive wines that haven’t sold, bottles them with his name, and sells them at a bargain price. This Zinfandel was much more delicious than it’s $10 price tag would have led me to believe.

One of the intriguing things about wine is the label. It’s appealing to read the label and let one’s mind wander to that particular village, whether it’s in France, Argentina, or California. The wines that are made from grapes all on one vineyard are especially intriguing. They seem more pure and genuine, as if one vintner has welcomed you to his or her home and shared centuries of a family’s work with you, a stranger. In that bottle one can taste not only the style of winemaking from this one family, a style that has evolved and been perfected over perhaps a few centuries, but also, one tastes the weather, the soil, the slope of the land. The French call it the terroir.

Perhaps the Cameron Hughes Zinfandel I drank last night was a lot of old vine zinfandel that he bought from the Herzog winery. Even though that winery wasn’t established until 1985, the family has a history of wine-making that includes making wine for the Emperor Franz Josef of Austro-Hungary. This is a family that escaped the Nazis during World War II, and escaped the Czech communist regime shortly after that. They then came to America and rebuilt their fortune on winemaking, finally opening the California winery in 1985. It’s quite a story and quite a family. But none of that is in this bottle because it’s not on the label.

This past week-end my husband and I filed our tax return. It was rejected because of my name. When I got married I changed my name on my social security card. But instead of dropping my middle or maiden name I just added my new last name. Now, I have four names on my card. The IRS hates that. It would be much easier for them if I dropped one of my names. My middle name was my grandmother’s maiden name, my great-grandfather’s surname. My maiden name was my last name for 33 years, my father’s surname, back for generations. The names together reflect where I came from. They are my terroir.

The Cameron Hughes, Lot #160 is every bit as delicious as it would be if it had a family name on the label rather than a number. But there’s something more to wine than just the taste. A good glass of wine is delicious. A great glass of wine is an experience.