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Zinfandel
California’s signature red grape variety, Zinfandel, has gained a toehold in BC’s most productive wine growing area, the South Okanagan.
The varietal came into prominence during the California Gold Rush in the 1850’s when demand soared for a substantial wine from grapes capable of producing large crops, and that was also relatively easy to grow. Zinfandel stepped up to the plate, emerging as the most widely planted California grape in the 1880’s.
Evidence shows that these first plantings were brought from US northeast nurseries based in Salem, Massachusetts, and Long Island, New York, rather than directly from Europe.
The origin of the name ‘Zinfandel’ remains a mystery, and in fact, the grape we now call Zinfandel in North America is genetically identical to the Primitivo grape grown originally in Apulia, a wine region in the heel of Italy’s boot. It is also closely related to Plavic Mali from Croatia.
A century later, Zinfandel struggled with its reputation in California. Regarded as little more than a decent jug wine, accolades went to the likes of Cabernet and Chardonnay. But a funny thing happened in the mid-1970’s when Bob Trinchero, the winemaker at Sutter Home on the main highway in Napa Valley, tried to make a bigger, sturdier, fuller-flavoured Zinfandel by extracting some of the clear juice from the red grapes before fermentation. Not wanting to waste anything, he also made a dry white wine from the clear juice.
The famous off-dry, blush style originally came from a stuck fermentation in one of the batches left a little residual sugar in the wine. Trinchero referred to the resulting Sutter Home White Zinfandel as a “freeway” wine because tractor trailers flew out the door of his winery as its popularity skyrocketed.
Ironically, white zin as a low-priced ‘pop wine’ saved many of the vines from disappearing to make way for the wave of prestige wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Later, restoring the “orphan grape” from oblivion to become a major contender for world class status became the mission of an organization in California called ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers). ZAP is an association that espouses knowledge and appreciation of America’s heritage grape.
Zinfandel is grown to a limited extent further afield, in other western states in the US, in South Africa and Australia. It first arrived in the Okanagan in 1999-2000 when Arterra Wines Canada (then known as Vincor} planted just over 4 acres of Zinfandel with vines from a nursery in California. Planted in two blocks in Bear Cub Vineyard, they were part of the sprawling 1,000 acre vineyard leased from the Osoyoos Indian Band. Backed by a west facing rock wall, which radiates considerable heat at night, Bear Cub’s sloping 186 acres, composed of variable sandy loam and rocky material, is also home to other varieties including Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2002, Inniskillin Okanagan’s winemaker Sandor Mayer sourced fruit grown on Bear Cub to produce BC’s first Zinfandel and continued until he returned to his home in Hungary in 2014. Now the grapes are used to produce Zinfandel at two wineries under the Arterra umbrella: winemaker Derek Kontkanen produces Inniskillin Okanagan’s rich, concentrated Discovery Series Zinfandel and Sumac Ridge winemaker Jason James produces 500 cases of Zinfandel under the stand- alone, palate friendly, affordable Black Sage Vineyard brand. His other wines include Sumac Ridge reds and whites and Stellar’s Jay bubblies.