For a long time, Cabernet Sauvignon was King as far as red wine drinking Americans were concerned, and Pinot Noir was Queen. Along came the Prince, a smooth, soft, drinking wine, Merlot, which was formerly a blending wine with Cabernet...
By Dianne Boate and Robert Meyer
Published: January, 2006
For a long time, Cabernet Sauvignon was King as far as red wine drinking Americans were concerned, and Pinot Noir was Queen. Along came the Prince, a smooth, soft, drinking wine, Merlot, which was formerly a blending wine with Cabernet. Folks were attracted to it because of the smooth-soft properties that made it a wine easier to drink, as opposed to the harsher, more full-bodied Cabernet.
Lingering in the background was the Changeling, Zinfandel, originating from Italy and brought over by Italian immigrants, especially during the Gold Rush of 1849. This explains the large number of old vines still producing grapes found today in the Sierra Foothills, and other California areas, like Lodi.
One of the best things you could do to get the New Year started is to plunge right in to Zinfandel this month by attending 15th annual Zinfandel Festival at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.
We have a copy of last year’s program, which is full of high quality ideas and information. Right inside the front cover is some of the most intelligent advice to the winetaster we have ever read:
• Eat while attending this wine tasting. Your body will thank you for it.
• Please step back from the tasting table to do your personal evaluation. Others can then step forward to receive a sample of the wine.‘
• Swirl the wine around in the glass. Look at the
color and smell the aromas.
• Rinse your glass with water before tasting the next wine.
• Be safe. Limit the amount you drink if you are driving.
Hear ye, hear ye!
We noticed a reprint of the Proclamation that Mayor Newsom signed for Zinfandel Grape Appreciation Week last year. This is a special treasure, because it provides a perfect miniature history lesson about Zinfandel:
Whereas, Zinfandel grapes have historical significance among agricultural products in California in that the origins of Zinfandel grapes in the United states date to the 1830s and the name Zinfandel was first used in 1832 establishing a unique and separate identity for the grape in America, eventually becoming the most widely planted wine grape in California by the 1880s, and...
Whereas, Zinfandel grape is an embodiment of the history and heritage of California, (in particular of the settlement and agricultural cultivation of the West) and Zinfandel grape vines were an integral part of the Gold Rush of 1849 and remain a living link to the time when gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada Foothills with some Zinfandel vines in that area being at least 130 years old and still producing grapes, and...
Dianne was so taken with this she called the mayor’s office to find out who wrote it. A man with a very pleasant voice in the Communications Office told her that several people write the proclamations. He was very pleased with all the compliments.
Stepping sideways on the subject of Zinfandel, one of our French Food and Wine classes at City College was conducted by Barbara Haimes, a Bay Area Wine and Food Consultant, who teaches in the field of Wine Studies at the college. When asked about Zinfandel, she told us that part of the popularity of Zinfandel was due to some winemaking changes. Up to the 1990’s, Zinfandel was a rustic spaghetti wine; it is now a highly extracted high alcohol wine.
With that in mind, we asked her advice about tasting wine at the Zinfandel Festival:
• Number One is Commit to Spit. After 15 minutes
of high alcohol Zinfandel you have no judgment.
• Do your homework. Know ahead whose wine you want to taste; focus.
• If you are unsure, find a knowledgeable friend to go with you and help navigate. There are nearly
300 participating wineries.) She also mentioned
that there is new evidence that Zinfandel began
in Croatia...we will save that for another time.
The Doctor is Zin
Kent Rosenblum not only has become very famous for his Zinfandel and many other good wines, but his whole operation can provide you with a wonderful adventure. Only in San Francisco Bay Area can you hop on a ferry, get off in Alameda and be steps away from a great wine tasting room and picnic grounds.
We visited with Rosenblum recently and learned that although at age 9 he wanted to be a veterinarian, he became involved with a group of folks making wine in 1973, and very early on he became the fearless leader because of his amazing sense of smell. He says, Your sense of smell is your sense of taste.
Rosenblum Cellars started out with Zinfandel, Cabernet, Petite Syrah and Riesling, but Zinfandel sold the fastest early on. The grapes were easier to find than Cabernet at that time, so, there was more of a focus on Zinfandel, and he has become very famous because of it. Dianne counted the gold, bronze, and silver medals that adorn two stately panels, about 100 each, but Kent said there were more tucked away, totaling about 1,000. Impressive.
Just as location, location, location is the success mantra for restaurants, Rosenblum’s mantra is Attention to detail, attention to detail, attention to detail. When we complimented him on his beautiful tasting room glasses that seem to be extra large in size, he said, If the doctor says one glass a day, then this is the glass you want. Of his wine? Yes!
In closing, just imagine the look on the faces of some well-known winemakers in Burgundy, when they found out that the last paper-bagged bottle in a blind tasting in Mercurey, France, was not any sort of Pinot Noir at all, (the only red grape used in the region,) but a bottle of Zinfandel that Robert snuck in for sheer devilment.
Dianne Boate is a free lance writer, photographer and budding botanical illustrator. Robert Meyer is a consultant to the wine and spirits industry. At a wine tasting in Murphy’s, Amador county, Robert thought he would outfox Dianne by handing her an unnamed glass of red wine. Here, Dianne, I have been saving this for you. Dianne outfoxed him by correctly identifying Zinfandel Port. There is a reason why she is She Who Must Be Obeyed.
The 2006 Zinfandel Festival will be held Jan. 25-28 at Fort Mason, San Francisco. For ticket and festival information, please visit www.zinfandel.org/festival or call (415) 345-7575
