Variety Show: Zinfandel

Variety show: Zinfandel. Born in Croatia as Tribidrag, widely grown in Puglia, southern Italy as Primitivo, the grape affectionately known as Zin has become synonymous with California gets a mixed press. In the negative column are White Zinfandel (an off-dry blush for which the word “wine” is something of a compliment) and boozy, sweet fruit-bombs from overcropped vines. It’s also quite hard to grow: vigorous where it works, prone to problems where it doesn’t, so keeping it under control in a good site is a lot of work. But that’s essential if you’re going to grow a wine that showcases Zinfandel’s generous array of forest berry fruits while balancing full body and alcohol with savoury notes, energetic freshness and - if you’re lucky, a bit of mineral rockiness. (On this last note, anyone wanting to get their head turned 180 degrees on this should seek out the Mount Veeder wines of Sky Vineyards...)
I’m looking at the 2020 Sonoma County bottling from Seghesio, which contains a smattering of other red grapes - including a bit of Petite Sirah, aka Durif.. The estate dates back to 1895 is a good reference point for Zin, both representative and relatively easy to find in Australia, where it’s imported by Negociants Australia. It will set you back around $60.