Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/391696
{ SOMMjournal.com } 107 herlock Holmes, were he an ampelographer, would be pleased. Solved was an age-old mystery that spanned oceans and continents, the New World and the Old. Through hands- on detective work, forensic know-how and cutting-edge technology, the missing link in the evolutionary story of a popular and beloved wine grape was uncovered, the mystery of its origins revealed in a word: Tribidrag—the ancient Croatian name for Zinfandel. For over a century wine lovers, viticulture experts and dedi - cated followers of taxonomy have pondered the fascinating question of Zinfandel's origins and migratory route to the U.S. No more so than in California, where the grape settled in the early 1800s and easily adapted to the topography and climate in regions such as Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. Often rec - ommended for Thanksgiving and touted as "America's heritage wine," Zinfandel reigns as California's signature red and seems as all-American as apple pie. But Mike Grgich, a native of Croatia and co-founder of Grgich Hills Estate in Napa, had his suspicions. Arriving to California in 1958, Grgich noticed that Zinfandel vines he encountered seemed like familiar old friends, the wines tasting just like the vino his father fermented back in the Old Country. "Looking at the vines I wondered am I in California or Croatia", he laughed during a scene in the film, Dossier Zinfandel. Suspect: Plavac Mali Grgich was not the only one to notice. In 1967 Austin Goheen, a plant pathologist at U.C. Davis, observed that Primitivo in the Puglia region of Italy closely resembled Zinfandel. Following an axis directly across the Adriatic Sea to the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, Goheen discovered Plavac Mali, an indigenous variety that shared characteristics with both Zinfandel and Primitivo. Isozyme analysis (a sort of plant fingerprinting a precursor to DNA profiling) revealed a high probability that Zinfandel and Primitivo were one. Tests on Plavac Mali however were inconclusive. Compelled by these findings, an American wine historian, Leon Adams, contacted Grgich, who continued to advocate that Zinfandel hailed from Croatia and could be Plavac Mali or a close relative. In 1983 Adams traveled to Croatia and reported that the leaves of the two varieties were "identical" and Plavac Mali wine "could easily be accepted as Zinfandel". Following with keen interest the unfolding Zinfandel/ Primitivo/ Plavac Mali mystery was Dr. Carole Meredith, a grape geneticist at U.C. Davis and leading pioneer of DNA pro - filing to establish interrelatedness and ancestry of wine grape varieties. Her team is credited for identifying the parentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah, among others. Intrigued, Meredith turned her attention to Croatia. The Search for Origins: "Zinquest" According to Meredith, the "serendipitous moment" descended in December 1997. Two Croatian scientists, Dr. Ivan Pejic ´ and Dr. Edi Maletic ´, were undertaking an initiative to genetically identify and catalogue Croatia's native grape varieties in prepa - ration for the country's entry into the European Union. With few resources and limited access to the latest technological equipment, Pejic´ and Maletic ´ knew outside assistance to meet the EU's strict criteria and deadlines would be required. When the email from Pejic ´ arrived, Meredith had already CROATIA'S PRODIGAL GRAPE FINDS ITS ROOTS. CAN IT GO HOME AGAIN? BY CLIFF RAMES Ivica Radunic ´ in his "Original Zin" vineyard in Kaštel Novi. PHOTO: CLIFF RAMES