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PHOTO COURTESY OF TRINCHERO FAMILY ESTATES PHOTO COURTESY OF TRINCHERO FAMILY ESTATES VARIETALS Is Zinfandel really the Primitivo grape that originated in Croatia hundreds of years ago and migrated through the heel of Italy to the western United States? If so, what does this say about America’s grape? “In terms of DNA they’re almost identi- cal,” says Terra d’Oro General Manager and Vice President Jeff Meyers. “But when tasting the wines I have no doubt of their differences. There are a lot of Zinfandel clones out there. Site decisions are also hugely important.” Terra d’Oro winemaker Chris Leamy, who sits on the board of Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP), likes to say that Zinfandel is why Amador County exists as a premier wine region. Meyers agrees. “We’re just one of 30-plus wineries in Amador, but we make five different Zins: a Port-style dessert wine, three small-production single-vineyard bot- tlings and 15,000 cases of our regular juice. That doesn’t even count the 10,000 cases Trinchero Family Estates [Terra d’Oro’s family-owned parent company] produces at Montevina.” Amador’s wineries are predominantly family operations, built on self-reliance and hard work. Amador vintners oversee more than 2,700 acres of grapes producing some of the best Zinfandel in America. The local Zin’s intense aromas and flavors can be attributed to a high percentage of old vines (approximately 600 acres at least 60 years old) and the often 35 degree diurnal swing between day and night. A Visionary Winemaker The arrival of Zinfandel in the U.S. may have been via the Imperial Nursery in Vienna, Austria, which likely obtained vines after the Habsburg monarchy’s acquisition of the Dalmatian territories of the former Republic of Venice in 1797. By the end of the 19th century, Zinfandel was the most widespread variety in California. But by 1950 its origins had been forgotten, with American wine writers often describing it as a California original that was grown nowhere else. Historically planted in California as a field blend interspersed with Durif (Petite Sirah), Carignane, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Mission and Muscat, most Zinfandel is now fully segregated. Around 400,000 short tons (350,000 tonnes) are crushed each year in the state, placing Zin third in that regard behind Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon and just ahead of Merlot. Zinfandel now accounts for more than ten percent of all California vine acreage. In 1972, Louis “Bob” Trinchero of Sutter Home Winery decided to remove some of the pinker juice from the regular Zinfandel must at an early stage, a process known as saignée. Rosé wine is often a by-product of red wine fermentation using this technique, which intensifies the red wine remaining in the vats. Three years into his experiment, Trinchero experienced a stuck fermentation but decided to bottle the juice anyway. Just as Portugal’s Mateus rosé had been a huge success in Europe after World War II, Sutter Home’s medium-sweet White Zinfandel quickly became june 201 1 / the tasting panel / 115 Louis “Bob” Trinchero pioneered a new style of Zinfandel at Sutter Home Winery in the 1970s.