Zinfandel: A Great Wine For Zinners

By Christina Kelly

I confess I am a zinner.

Can't help it. Drinking Zinfandel wine is like dating the boy (or girl) our mothers warned us about-attractive on the outside, but a little racy underneath.

What fuels the passions of Zinfandel lovers, besides its reputation as a bad boy, is the wine's delicious and aromatic fruit, covering the spectrum from light and flirty to big bodacious mamas, full of berry, cherry, plum and black pepper.

Yes, this wine has spice, with undertones of cinnamon and clove, and usually a distinctive black pepper taste lingering in the finish. It is often more approachable early on than Cabernet Sauvignon because of softer tannins, although the heavier Zins can reach higher alcohol contents of 14 to 16 percent.

I don't know of any other wine varietal that attracts such enthusiastic, mouthy, teetering-on-the-edge fans as Zinfandel. The wine has inspired fan clubs, such as ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers), Original Zinners and Zin Zealots. In these clubs, sporting purple teeth is a sign you've just tasted a hearty one. (The Zinfandel grape can be so intensely purple that it can stain your teeth.)

"Zinfandel people are different," said David Phillip, co-owner of Michael-David Phillips Vineyards in Lodi, CA. "We're kinda of wacky."

Even the bottle names and labels are different. Phillips has a bottle called the Seven Deadly Zins. Bonny Doon Vineyards, located in Santa Cruz, produces a Zinfandel called Cardinal Zin. On the label is an edgy cartoon of a man dressed as a cardinal, designed by cartoonist Ralph Steadman. The wine label was actually banned in Ohio.

For those of you who remember, Ralph Steadman was the cartoonist (and buddy) for "Gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson's book, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Steadman is a big Zinfandel fan.

Robert Sinskey Vineyards, in Napa, even has a comic book tale on the back of his label. It reads, "In a world of greed and corruption, an American superhero has emerged. He is on a quest to save the reputation of the real American grape. Commander Zinskey's self-imposed mission is to restore the rose colored glasses that blind the misguided, post cold war masses… For years, the evil White Zin Supremacists have infiltrated rural America. Commander Zinskey must find and save the exploited Zinfandel vines before the White Zin Supremacists subvert the world."

Alexander Valley Vineyards produces Sin Zin, complete with a poster of a man relaxing in a Garden-of-Eden-type atmosphere, eating grapes.

One of the reasons for the wine's popularity, I suspect, is the quality-to-price ratio. While Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon prices are rising faster than a gallon of gasoline, Zins remain a relatively good bargain. A decent, lip-smacking bottle of Zinfandel will cost you about $15 to $20. The equivalent bottle of Cabernet shows up at $30.

And, this wine is about as American as you can get, although its origins are clouded by recent DNA studies that show the grape may have originated in Croatia. Since the mid-1800s, however, the wine is strictly Californian. Our southern neighbor produces the grape in great quantities, making it the most successful American wine of its time.

It's still the most widely planted grape in California, although more blush wine is produced than the red variety.

By the 1980s, red Zinfandel nearly disappeared when winemakers pulled off the skins and produced a "white" Zinfandel. The white Zin was sweeter, massed produced, and more importantly, cheaper. Despite its popularity at the time, wine aficionados gave a thumbs down on the wine, and many wine producers stopped bottling red Zinfandel.

Thanks to grape growers in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino, red Zinfandel came roaring back like a lion in the 1990s. Vineyards in these valleys boast the oldest vines in the country-from 75 to 100 years old.

Ted Seghesio, whose family owns more than 150 acres of Zinfandel vines, says he was unwilling to tear out the vines for another grape. A core of fellow farmers agreed and continued to produce the heartier version, albeit smaller quantities.

Today the wine has a cult status and wine snobs are back in the fold. California is the biggest and best producer of Zinfandel because the grape needs a hot climate to ripen. Often a Zin will taste a little "green" because all the fruit did not fully ripen. It explains why there is such a variety of Zinfandels and makes the final product a little unpredictable.

A handful of Oregon winemakers produce some good Zinfandels, usually with grapes purchased from Eastern Washington or Southern Oregon.

My favorite is Sineann, a hearty, over-the-top Zin with dark berry and plum flavors. Owen Roe also produces a similar Zinfandel. Winemaker David O'Reilly and Peter Rossback have an outstanding Zinfandel in barrels that will drink and age well after release sometime this year.

King Estate makes a lighter version of Zin, and Lost Mountain in Sequim, WA. has an agreeable Zinfandel that is very food friendly.

Although zinfandel is a wine for all seasons, it is particularly wonderful in the spring and summer when barbequing breaks us out of the house and onto our decks and backyards. Good zinfandels are full and thick and brambly-a great match with a thick steak and fresh salad. End the meal with a homemade sorbet and life will be as good as it gets.

Just don't let any zinophiles talk you into a tattoo!