subject: Sonoma County Zinfandel | Old Vine Zinfandel | Gamba Vineyards [print this page] Sonoma County Zinfandel | Old Vine Zinfandel | Gamba Vineyards
Sonoma County Zinfandel | Old Vine Zinfandel | Russian River Valley
Sonoma County Zinfandel is one of the red wine gems of California's wine country. Although many other varietals flourish in Sonoma County, including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, few other grape growing regions boast the number and quality of wines made from the Zinfandel grapes.
An abundance of Zinfandel vineyards were planted in the late 1800s and by the end of the 20th century became the most widely planted varietal. The Zinfandel grapes made excellent, deep red wines for home winemakers and traditionally produced a good amount of fruit per vine.
Beginning in the 1930s many of these Zinfandel vines were pulled up for several reasons, including Prohibition, the varietal was susceptible to rot and disease, and was primarily used as a blending grape for hearty red wines.
The resurgence of Zinfandel started in 1972 when Bob Trinchero at Sutter Homes Winery decided to "bleed" off some of the juice and produced 220 cases of the first "White Zinfandel", which still accounts for 9.9% of wine sales by volume (6.3% by value). That is six times the amount of red zinfandel wines sold.
However, red zinfandel offers unique, rich, delicious red wines of depth and substance, and is seen as a suitable alternative to the more expensive, proclaimed "king" of red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon. Zinfandels offer the deep dark and red berry fruit, such as blackberry and raspberry, with good structure, and added nuances of spice and pepper.
In future articles, we will explore the different regions of Sonoma County that produce the venerable Zinfandel grapes and subsequent wines, as well as the growers and wineries that produce them.
