Some Thoughts about Zinfandel and a Historical Note on Old Vine Zinfandel
The Zinfandel grape can be traced back to Croatia where it is still alive and well. There they call it Crljenak Kastelanski (Red Castel), Plavac Veliki or historically Tribidrag. When in Chicago several years ago, Alice spotted a bottle of Croatian Plavac produced by a joint venture headed by Mike Grgich. We excitedly shared it with our Bosnian friend who owned a small restaurant at that time in Grand Rapids. As we tasted this wonderful wine I told our friend how I was blown away by the quality. I compared the Croatian Plavac to a French Grand Cru thinking that I was giving it an extraordinary compliment. His reply was, “of course, our people were making fine wine and serving haut cuisine back when the French were still living in caves”. His assessment was absolutely correct. We westerners forget how much older the cultures of the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean are relative to Western Europe, which most Americans perceive as “really really old”! Much later only maybe 2000 years ago, the Phoenicians brought that grape which became known as Primitivo to the southern “heel” of the Italian peninsula in what is now the Apulia region. And, much much much later during the early 19th century, Count Agoston Haraszthy of Hungary brought it to California. Although in Italy the grape was known as Primitivo, it was a favorite of the Italian immigrants to California who for unknown reasons, called it Zinfandel.
When the University of California at Davis classified all of the known grapes growing in the Americas, they classified Zinfandel as a region II variety. In other words, it was viewed as a grape well suited to relatively cool regions. This is because it produces sugar very well and even in cool places like Carneros and Monterey, it easily builds enough sugar to make wine of 13%+ alcohol. Perhaps because many of the immigrant farmers settled in some of the warmer areas of California or perhaps just chance, Zinfandel quickly earned a reputation as a grape that was quite heat and drought tolerant. Consequently, today, much of the best old vine Zinfandels come from vineyards planted 50 to 150 years ago in places like Amador County, Sonoma County, Paso Robles and even areas in the Central Valley like Lodi and Contra Costa County. Baja Mexico is producing remarkably fine Zinfandel these days too. The challenge here is not to get sugar. In a warm dry setting, Zinfandel will often be sugar ripe by mid-September. However, to gain complexity, finesse and nuanced subtleties, it may take until the later part of October. Consequently, in a warm climate, by the time flavors are completely mature, the sugars are at a point where the natural alcohol will push 15% or more. To make fine, elegant, balanced wine with a whopping 15% alcohol is a real challenge. Some wineries like Cline, Buena Vista and Bogle have done a splendid job of lightening up their Zins without making any wimpy wines. I remember a few decades ago when Scott Harvey then of Santino Vineyards in Amador county made an experimental “second harvest” Zinfandel picked in January from secondary grape producing canes. The wine didn’t taste anything like what I think of Zinfandel. It was a remarkable example of liquid raspberry jam that had zip and sizzle to it.
That being said, most consumers, myself included, think of Zinfandel as a big, bold, ripe, jammy, deep black/red fruit bomb with subtle spice, chocolate and marmalade nuances, rich in body yet with a lighter fresher finish than one could possibly expect from a 15% alcohol wine.
Scott Harvey, Amador County native who earned his winemaking credentials in Germany, landed his first professional winemaking job at Montevina Winery. He quickly learned the dynamics of producing big wines from ripe fruit while keeping elegance, complexity and balance as the hallmarks of his wine. Scott now has his own winery but his most sought after wine is his Old Vine Reserve Zinfandel. He tells the story that whatever grapes his grandfather grew in a small 4 acre vineyard that were left over after his grandfather sold what he could to the local Portuguese and Basques, would go into his grandfathers home-made wine served at all family gatherings. Once Scott became a pro, it became obvious that his grandfather was not exactly an astute winemaker. So Scott started buying all of his grandfather’s grapes and marketing whatever his grandfather didn’t need for family get-togethers. To this day, Scott still makes his signature Old Vine Reserve Zinfandel from that small family vineyard as well as his 1869 vineyard planted in that year by Italian immigrants who had come to Amador in search of Gold. Another of my favorite Zinfandel producers also got his start at Montevina Winery a few years after Scott had left. Jeff Meyers has been at Montevina ever since and although he is now Vice President and General Manager, his oversight of all aspects of winemaking continue to show his deft hand at making big ripe wines that exude class and finesse. Below is a conversation I had with Jeff not too long ago.
A Chat with Jeff Meyers: VP and GM of Montevina/Terra d’Oro Winery
Shortly after graduation at the top of his class at the University of California at Davis, Jeff Meyers started with Montevina Winery in 1981. His entire winemaking career has been focused on delivering the essence of the Amador Foothills east of Sacramento from the grape varieties that thrive on his dry, high altitude 800 acre site. One of his hobbies is growing and cooking with heirloom tomatoes.
Michigan Vintner: Many of the wines that your winery markets are made from Italian grape varieties. Why is that?
Jeff Meyers: The primary reason is that they grow well in Amador County. My life’s work revolves around vineyard trials to determine exactly which clones will best express the finest qualities inherent in the Foothills terroir. Pruning, spacing, and trellising all play a role. We modify these practices with each variety to produce the best fruit.
MV: One of my favorite wines is your Terra d’Oro Barbera. How do you manage to keep the rustic quality like those grown in the Italian Piedmont without the high acidity?
JM: We allow Barbera to undergo extended skin contact during fermentation. That really allows us to extract more flavor and allow long chain-like molecules of tannin to create a velvety mouth feel. I’ve been making that wine for over thirty five years now. I think we’ve got it just right.
MV: You are known as a Zinfandel specialist. What is it that you feel separates your Zinfandel from the many other good Zinfandel producers in the Sierra Nevada Foothills?
JM: Besides having astonishingly great fruit from some of the oldest vineyards in Amador County (the vines on the Deaver Ranch are almost 140 years old), we have learned how to manage the intense flavors emphasizing balance without sacrificing richness.
MV: Specifically, how do you do that?
JM: Early on, we adopted the “rack and return” process. Most wineries simply “pump over”. This involves pumping the fermenting juice over the cap of skins. However, the juice tends to find its way back through the same channels that form during this process. With rack and return, we remove all of the fermenting juice, tip the fermenter and break up the cap of skins. This way, the juice needs to find a new way every time through to achieve much more skin contact in the same amount of time. It also allows us to remove most of the seeds which can give the wine a bitter flavor. We can also give the yeast an oxygen boost at just the right time which creates more of those long tannin molecules that makes our wines taste so soft and rich.
MV: Most of your wines are up in the 14-15% alcohol range. Why don’t they taste hot or volatile?
JM: We stress balance. If you extract as much of the rich fruit flavors and aromas as possible and build soft tannins, one isn’t even aware of the alcohol when tasting our wines. We strive for fresh, balanced wines; never heavy.
MV: I am a big fan of Mediterranean wines, particularly those of Northern Spain and Southern France made in a bright edgy style from Greanache, Syrah, Carignane and Mourvedre. Even though all of those varieties are grown in California and many of the microclimates such as yours in the Foothills are quite comparable to the Mediterranean climate, no one makes that style of wine. Why?
JM: I am a big fan of those styles as well and I agree our climate is very similar to that Mediterranean climate, however, our soils are not and that contributes to the differences. I will say that I think there are a lot of people now working on this very style, us included. I think the pendulum is swinging back to these styles of wine with decreased oak and bright, fresh balance. We recently embarked on a new Rhone program that includes Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Since 2012 we have made excellent examples of these varieties and as they progress, we will continue to monitor and bench blend and coddle them to nurse every ounce of character and flavor out of them that we can.
Below are a few wines that Jeff shared with me. Needless to say, his wines speak for themselves!
2015 Terra d’Oro Amador County Zinfandel 14.5% alcohol $19 This is classic Amador Zin; pure cherry liqueur essence with subtle nuances of cloves and chocolate on the palate. Though rich and mouth coating, Jeff is right; it is not heavy.
2015 Terra d’Oro California Moscato 10% alcohol $12 I have never tasted a Moscato with such pure clean flavors while still exhibiting sweet untamed aromatic power. The perfume is both exotic and reminiscent of the big ripe yellow grapes from which it is made
Enjoy in Good Health!
A. Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner
