Zinfandel, known adoringly as “America’s Grape,” was one of the wines that put California on the map as a New World winemaking region and remains a primary grape today. In its purest form, it’s intense, jammy, and rich, though it can also be made into a sweet blush or fortified wine. Along with California, it’s also shown success in Italy, where it’s known as Primitivo.
Zinfandel is a red grape known for making robust, bold, inky red wines. Its high alcohol and cooked fruit flavors make it a sometimes daunting wine. If you’re a “red wine only” person, you will certainly love Zinfandel.
In this guide, we’ll take a deep dive into Zinfandel wine, its growing regions, tasting notes, serving recommendations, and of course, plenty of food pairings.
Interested in learning about more red wines? Consider reading our guides to Cabernet Franc and Petit Sirah next!
Characteristics of Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a red grape that’s primarily made into dry red wine. A notable exception is White Zinfandel, a sweet blush wine made in California (more on that in a bit). In the 1830s, this grape was imported from Croatia, where it’s known as Tribidrag, to California.
Zinfandel is a tight-clustered grape notorious for uneven ripening. Often, by the time the grape clusters are mostly ripe, many of the grapes have already turned to raisins. This is what gives the wine a fig or raisin flavor…and very high alcohol content.
Despite being so richly flavored, Zinfandel is rarely blended with other grapes. Its tannins make it an age-worthy wine capable of being cellared for up to a decade, though few can wait that long!
Zinfandel Tasting Notes
When made in a dry red style, Zinfandel is medium to full in body, with high tannins, medium to low acidity, and high alcohol, usually around 15% ABV. It’s aged in oak to mellow its tannins, give it a softer texture, and subsequently add notes of vanilla, tobacco, and cinnamon spice.
Most examples of red Zinfandel can be expected to have notes of blackberry jam, boysenberry, black plum, pepper, and raisin. Sweet fortified red wines will have more fig, prune, black cherry, and cassis flavors.
White Zinfandel
As mentioned, Zinfandel wears many hats. Opposite to the big, jammy red wine, it’s also made in a rosé style, where it’s known as White Zinfandel.
White Zinfandel was invented in the 1970s by California winemakers as a way to encourage more people to drink Zinfandel. It’s made by separating the juice from the skins early to keep the wine pink. The yeast dies off before fermentation is complete, making for a sweet wine.
To date, White Zinfandel continues to outsell red Zin in California, though it’s often mass-produced and not considered to be good quality.
How to Serve Zinfandel
Red Zinfandel is best served in a standard red wine glass at room temperature (60-68°F), such as a Bordeaux or a wide-rimmed red wine glass. Decanting older vintages for up to one hour can help open up the wine and reveal its more nuanced flavors.
White Zinfandel should be served well-chilled (49-55°F) in a standard white wine glass. Decanting is not necessary.
Lastly, fortified Zinfandel should be served in a small-portioned dessert glass slightly below room temperature, between 55-68F.
Notable Regions for Zinfandel
Zinfandel is almost exclusively found in two regions: California and Italy. That said, each region is making unique examples of this wine worth exploring and comparing. Below is more about each region.
California
Zinfandel vines were some of the first to be planted in California, and many boast to be well over 100 years old. These gnarled, twisted vines produce low yields, making for deep and concentrated wines.
Until the late 90s, Zinfandel was California’s most widely planted grape (now it’s third to Cabernet and Chardonnay). It’s primarily found in the Napa Valley, Paso Robles, and Lodi Valley.
Napa is the more mild-tempered of the three, making for wines with more red fruit aroma and slightly higher acid. Paso Robles is one of the few spots experimenting with blending, notably with its equally robust red, Petite Sirah. These blends are intensely flavored with black and blue fruit, oak spice, and tobacco.
The Lodi Valley is where you’ll find the 100-year vines. Its warm days, cool evenings, and quick-draining soil make for smooth, elegant, rich wines with cooked red fruit, dark chocolate, and vanilla.
Italy
In Italy, Zinfandel goes by Primitivo and is made in southern Italy’s Apulia/Puglia region (the heel to the boot). This region sits on a thin strip of fertile Mediterranean soil and is Italy’s second-most abundant winemaking region.
Primitivo is only made in exceptional years when the vines have had the chance to fully ripen. They’re known for being complex and age-worthy, with flavors of dark chocolate, blackberry, licorice, and cherry.
If sweet, fortified Zin is what you’re after, look for a bottle of Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale. It’s made in a late-harvest style, where the grapes can fully raisinate and develop maximum sweetness.
Zinfandel Food Pairings
With words like “robust,” “complex,” and “powerful,” you might think that it would be difficult to pair Zinfandel with food. Thankfully, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Zinfandel packs a wealth of warm spice flavors, making it the perfect wine to pair with Turkish, Indian, or Moroccan dishes. It’s also, in my opinion, the perfect wine for pizza night.
Consider pairing Zinfandel with sharp cheeses, caramelized onions, tomato sauce, and curry spice, or try it with my braised Moroccan lamb curry, burrata pizza, or roasted rack of lamb.
If you want to pair White Zinfandel, consider spicy dishes or BBQ, or serve it as a dessert wine. Just make sure the dessert you’re pairing it with is less sweet than the wine; otherwise, you risk the wine appearing bitter. My Lemon Olive Oil Cake would make a great pairing!
Be sure to shout out below any favorite food pairings or specific Zinfandel wines you’ve tried and loved!
Let us know your thoughts!