The venerable Zinfandel red is like an ex heavyweight
champion who keeps getting knocked down, but never out and keeps coming back
to try and win his title one more time. When interest in serious wine
blossomed after WWII, you were considered to be “in the know” if you showed
up at a dinner party with a bottle of Louis Martini Zinfandel.
Zinfandel remained popular for years but slowly the
Cabernet Sauvignons, which were derivative of the famous Bordeaux names,
became the wine of choice. Further Zinfandel grapes ripen in an erratic way
and are tricky to harvest. Vintners often came to market with a high alcohol
and raisiny wine. Zinfandel went down for the first time.
In the early ‘70s Paul Draper of Ridge Vinyards in
Santa Cruz found some old Zinfandel vinyards in the Alexander Valley and
began to market the single vineyard wines that became stars for him.
Zinfandel was on the way back. Ridge continues to be a leader but has been
joined recently by a number of talented newcomers.
Red Zinfandel went down for the second time in the ‘80s
under the onslaught of the sweet white Zinfandel. Serious wine drinkers
could not bring themselves to buy anything with the word Zinfandel attached.
Old Zinfandel vines were used to produce the white stuff by merely
fermenting the juices without contact with the red skins.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the old
Zinfandel wines survived rather than being uprooted for the Chardonnay
uprising. The cheap white Zinfandel craze has run its course especially for
the vintners who can’t make money at those low prices. White Zinfandel now
is in the class of a jug wine coming from newer and cheaper plantings in
bulk areas. Meanwhile the old vines are now in the hands of a bunch of
creative winemakers. Zinfandel is again fighting its way off the ropes.
It is again being recognized along with Pinot Noir as
the wine that goes well with a wide variety of lighter foods such as veal,
pork, duck, quail, squab and even salmon. Of equal importance is that it
may offer the best pricing in relation to quality of all the varietals.
Top of the
line Zins comparable to premium Cabs and Pinots in the $50-75 category can
be found in the $25-35 range. Excellent wines are available in the $16-19
range and very drinkable Zinfandels are on the shelves for as low as $9.
1997 is the best vintage of the last few years. Stay away from 1998 in most
cases and go for the good but not great ‘99s instead.
Some specific names to look for are premium Outpost,
Ridge, Rosenblum and Renwood in the $25-35 range, mid-priced Rancho Zabaco
and Rosenblum again around $16. Finally very good buys are Beaulieu, Rancho
Zabaco and especially Renwood in the $10 –14.
Most of these wines are limited in production and
therefore are not to be found at mass merchants. This is a time to go to
your local wine merchant such as Conejo Wine and Provision in Thousand Oaks.
If they don’t have it in stock, they may be able to order what you want and
the advice you get will provide you with a real value.
By now you should have figured out that the price of
many wines in most cases has little to do with the cost or the quality .
It has to do with what the traffic will bear or what the vintner thinks he
can get for the wine based on the quantity produced and the perceived
demand. A little effort can result create a lot of value in your cellar
whether it holds 1,000 or 10 bottles.
For specific
buying locations email me
at Fredlich1@aol.com
