Zinfandel

Zinfandel comes from Croatia. VIVC records its country or region of origin as Balkan, under the prime name Primitivo and variety number 9703, and as Jancis Robinson puts it, the researchers concluded that "Zinfandel/Primitivo had to be Croatian in origin too". Its parents are unknown: both parent fields in its VIVC passport are blank, and no full pedigree is recorded. Zinfandel is itself a parent. The passport flags offspring, and WineWiki's VIVC-derived lineage data links three: Plavac Mali, Grk Bijeli and Vranac.

• VIVC prime name: Primitivo; VIVC variety number 9703
• Origin: Croatia (VIVC country or region of origin: Balkan)
• Parents: none recorded (parentage unknown)
• Offspring linked in WineWiki's VIVC-derived lineage data: Plavac Mali, Grk Bijeli, Vranac

Zinfandel reached America by way of Vienna: old catalogues and nurserymen's records show that the vine was imported to the American east coast in the late 1820s from the Austrian imperial nursery. It was then taken to Boston, and by the 1830s it was quite widely grown under glass as a table grape in New England. It seems to have travelled west in an early shipment of vine cuttings to the prospectors who rushed to California in search of gold in 1849, and by the middle of the 19th century it was established in northern California and prized for its productivity. Its Old World identity stayed a mystery until December 2001, when DNA profiling by UC Davis grapevine geneticist Carole Meredith's group, working with Ivan Pejić and Edi Maletić of the University of Zagreb, showed that Zinfandel and the Croatian grape Crljenak are one and the same; the full name of that Dalmatian Coast variety is Crljenak Kaštelanski. During Prohibition it was a favourite of the thousands who shipped grapes east from California to make wine at home, and it was the most planted dark-skinned grape variety of the West Coast until Cabernet Sauvignon took that place in the second half of the 20th century.

• DNA identification: December 2001, Carole Meredith's group (UC Davis) with Ivan Pejić and Edi Maletić (University of Zagreb)
• Old mixed plantings: Ridge's Lytton East block in Sonoma County has Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane planted in 1901 and 1910
• Prohibition: thousands shipped grapes east from California to make wine at home

Zinfandel needs a warm climate to ripen successfully, and it is primarily grown in two places: California, where it is known as Zinfandel, and Puglia in southern Italy, where it is known as Primitivo. In Jancis Robinson's view, the best California Zinfandel tends to be grown from very carefully tended old vines in the Sierras or in Dry Creek Valley. Some of the oldest vines in the state grow in the old mining country of the Sierras east of the Central Valley, where ancient vineyards were left virtually untended during Prohibition. In Sonoma County, Ridge's Lytton Springs vineyard sits on the bench and hills separating Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, just north of Healdsburg, and its vines are head trained.

• Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County): old vines, including Ridge's Lytton East block, planted in 1901 and 1910
• Sierras: some of the oldest vines in the state, in the old mining country east of the Central Valley
• Puglia, Southern Italy: a warm region, where the variety is known as Primitivo

Zinfandel's character shifts with ripeness: as it ripens, its flavours change from red fruits (strawberry, raspberry) to black fruits (black plum, blackberry, blueberry). The variety sometimes ripens unevenly, with some grapes within the bunch raisining before others have ripened, and this gives high sugar levels and flavours of dried fruit. Typical red Zinfandel is dry, high in alcohol and full-bodied, with medium to high acidity and tannin and pronounced aromas of red and black fruit, dried fruit and oak. Its aromatic intensity is pronounced. A recognisable berry jam flavour in many an inexpensive California red is a sure sign of some high-yielding Zinfandel in the blend. Very old vines produce low quantities of very concentrated fruit, and the resulting wines can develop tertiary flavours of earth and meat in the bottle. White Zinfandel is pink, with medium sweetness, low alcohol, a light body and simple red-fruit character.

• Red Zinfandel: dry, high alcohol, full body, medium to high acidity and tannin; red and black fruit, dried fruit, oak
• Very old vines: low quantities of very concentrated fruit; earth and meat develop in the bottle
• Uneven ripening: raisined grapes bring high sugar levels and dried-fruit flavours
• White Zinfandel: pink, medium sweetness, low alcohol, light body, simple red fruit

Uneven ripening is one of Zinfandel's two potential problems in the vineyard, even on the same tightly packed bunch of thin-skinned grapes, so the grapes can rot quite easily, and when grapes are ripe they can easily start to raisin. Zinfandel therefore needs more care in the vineyard than Cabernet. Red Zinfandel is typically made from a mixture of ripe and extra-ripe grapes fermented to dryness, and it is often matured in oak to soften the tannins and add flavour complexity; the rosés are not oak aged. For its 2013 Lytton Springs, Ridge Vineyards used natural yeast fermentations and aged the wine fourteen months in air-dried American oak barrels, 20% of them new. Turley Wine Cellars combines organic farming with native yeast fermentations.

• Uneven ripening: tightly packed bunches of thin-skinned grapes rot quite easily, and ripe grapes can easily start to raisin
• Native yeast fermentations: used at Ridge Vineyards (2013 Lytton Springs) and Turley Wine Cellars
• Oak: red Zinfandel is often matured in oak to soften the tannins and add flavour complexity; rosés are not oak aged

Ridge Vineyards is probably the longest-serving exponent of fine Zinfandel, in Jancis Robinson's judgement. Ridge made its first Lytton Springs in 1972, from vines planted on the eastern half of the vineyard at the turn of the century. Ravenswood is among the producers she credits with carving out a reputation for their Zinfandel. Turley Wine Cellars was founded in Napa Valley in 1993 by Larry Turley and has made wine from over 50 sites across California, many of its vineyards planted in the late 1800s. Seghesio Family Vineyards builds its Home Ranch Zinfandel around the original vines its founders planted in 1895 at the Home Ranch Vineyard in Alexander Valley.

• Ridge Vineyards: Lytton Springs (first vintage 1972), Dry Creek Valley
• Turley Wine Cellars: founded 1993; wine from over 50 sites across California; organic farming
• Seghesio Family Vineyards: Home Ranch Zinfandel from founding blocks planted in 1895 in Alexander Valley

Seghesio suggests pairing its Home Ranch Zinfandel with rich and meaty short ribs, braised pork belly or gnocchi gorgonzola.

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=9703 ; https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/13022/wset_l2wines_sessionplans_en_may2023_issue2.pdf ; https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/researchers-discover-zinfandels-hidden-roots ; https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Specialty_and_Other_Releases/Grapes/Acreage/2025/grpacSUMMARY2024Crop.pdf ; https://www.ridgewine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Ridge-2013-Lytton-Springs.pdf ; https://www.seghesio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2019-Home-Ranch-Zinfandel.pdf ; https://www.turleywinecellars.com/about Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/red/zinfandel Last verified 2026-10-19