What You Need to Know About Zinfandel Grapes Articles | Home Winemaking

By: Darren Williger

Of all the winemaking grapes, some of the most popular include the Zinfandel grapes. These grapes have a very colorful history and they were initially believed to come from Italy but research has actually shown that they come from the region which is now known as Croatia. The Primitivo is a much similar grape to the Zinfandel which grows in Italy but DNA studies have shown that the Zinfandel is a closer relation to the Orlienak grape which has been found to grow in Croatia.

History has shown that the Zinfandel grape first came to the United States in the year 1820 by the way of a New Yorker who got cuttings from vines when he was in Europe. He brought these grapes back with him in order to start cultivating them in his own nursery. In less than 20 years, the grape became a popular fixture in the northeast of the United States. By the middle of the 1850’s the grape had started growing in California and it is currently a native species in the region.

The Zinfandel grape is believed to be as popular and as versatile as the Chardonnay grape regardless of the fact that they tend to produce wines that are very different. After the 1980s, the Zinfandel grape became a whole lot more popular. Zinfandel is really a red grape and it results in wine that has a delightfully fruity taste.

The Zinfandel grape can be grown quite easily unlike some other grapes. They are a resilient species of grapes which are able to grow in a variety of climates and it is one of the few grapes which have the ability to produce a crop in the same season that it is grown in. Despite all these benefits, this grape has a stem that is short and this puts it in a position to suffer from bunch rot and certain forms of mildew which tend to affect grapes. Zinfandel grapes also require a fair amount of moisture or they will dry out quite easily. Irrigation with these grapes is absolutely necessary but everything must be worked out in order to have an exact timing and schedule for watering the crop.

Zinfandel grapes are also famous for ripening unevenly and this is a factor which may result in them being quite difficult to harvest. They must all be picked at once but since this isn’t possible so you end up spending days harvesting the crop. Due to the uneven ripening, the crop must be picked by hand. The grape offers a lot of things to the grower and its problems can easily be overlooked in favor of its benefits. With the hardiness of the Zinfandel, its grapes can continue wine production for as long as a century. Older vines tend to result in better and finer wine.

Zinfandel wine should be aged carefully. In order to achieve the desired quality, three to five years of aging is the optimal recommendation for aging. Anything other than this will ruin the quality of the wine.