Zinfandel Wine in Australia
This variety is known as Zinfandel in California and as Primitivo in Puglia in Southern Italy
...deep ruby,
blackberry, peppery...
These
are some of the adjectives used for this variety on De
Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table
Debate and discussion about its origin has raged over the past few years, but it is now established that the Californian Zinfandel is genetically identical to the Italian variety Primitivo and the obscure Croatian variety Crljenak Kastelanski. The last named has the oldest provenance so in some ways can be regarded as the correct name. How Zinfandel and Primitivo got to their current homes is still an open topic.
Zinfandel has a reputation for being difficult to manage in the vineyard, and it is not user friendly in the winery either, so it seems that wine producers either love it or hate it.
It is prone to uneven ripening even within individual bunches, see the image at right, which presents dilemmas at vintage time. Some winemakers, such as Rick Glastonbury at Kabminye in the Barossa Valley see this as an advantage, allowing wine to be made with complex palate showing a range of ripe and ripening fruit flavours.
This variety is popular in California where it makes all manner of wines, perhaps the best is the rugged dry reds where finesse is not an issue. Most popular is 'white Zin' which is a sweetish pink style that gets short shrift from most serious wine critics.
Some enthusiastic Californian winemakers give it careful treatment including several picking passes and attentive work in the winery followed by oak aging to produce wines of some distinction.
In Australia, Cape Mentelle at Margaret River and Nepenthe in the Adelaide Hills were the first to establish a reputation for producing good Zinfandel wines, but they now have plenty of competitors. It is fair to say that wines from this variety in Australia are a work in progress, but most producers seem to be aiming at a robust red style rather than the sometimes insipid "White Zin" beverage.
Producers of Australian Zinfandel
Arimia Margaret River Margaret River
Audrey Wilkinson Hunter Valley
Baarrooka Strathbogie Ranges
Ballabourneen Wines Hunter Valley
Barrecas Geographe
Beach Road Langhorne Creek
Brown Brothers King Valley
Buckshot Vineyard Heathcote
Burge Family Winemakers Barossa Valley
By Jingo Adelaide Hills
Calais Estate Hunter Valley
Cape Horn Vineyard Goulburn Valley
Cape Mentelle Margaret River
Cargo Road Wines Orange
Chapman Valley Wines Central Western Australian Zone
Chateau Tanunda Barossa Valley
Chittering Valley Winery Perth Hills
Coffee Hill Winery Orange
Concotton Creek Peel
De Bortoli Riverina
Donnybrook Estate Geographe
Elderton Barossa Valley
Glaymond Wines Barossa Valley
Grove Estate Wines Hilltops
Hanging Rock Winery Macedon Ranges
Hently Farm Wines Barossa Valley
Hotham Ridge Winery Peel
Inghams Skilly Ridge Wines Clare Valley
Inkwell McLaren Vale
Irvine Eden Valley
Jarrah Ridge Winery Perth Hills
jb Wines Barossa Valley
Kabminye Wines Barossa Valley
Kangarilla Road McLaren Vale
Karanto Vineyards Langhorne Creek
Kingston Estate Riverland
Lethbridge Wines Geelong
Lilac Hill Estate Swan Valley
Lion Mill Winery Perth Hills
Longview Vineyard Adelaide Hills
Lowe Family Wines Mudgee
Mandalay Road Geographe
Mansfield Wines Mudgee
Marschall Groom Cellars Barossa Valley
McAdams Lane Geelong
Morrisons of Glenrowan Glenrowan
Murray Street Vineyard Barossa Valley
Nepenthe Adelaide Hills
O'Regan Creek Vineyard and Winery Queensland Coastal
Oak Works Riverland
Old Caves Granite Belt
Olssens of Watervale Clare Valley
Peel Estate Peel
Pepper Tree Wines Orange
Petersons Glenesk Estate Mudgee
Phillips Estate Pemberton
Piggs Peake Winery Hunter Valley
Rigel Wines Mornington Peninsula
Riverbank Estate Swan Valley
Robinvale Wines Murray Darling
Romavilla Roma
Rookery Wines Kangaroo Island
Rusden Wines Barossa Valley
Rusticana Langhorne Creek
Rutherglen Estates Rutherglen
Sanguine Estate Heathcote
Schulz Vignerons Barossa Valley
Seraph's Crossing Clare Valley
Smallwater Estate Geographe
Smidge Wines Langhorne Creek
Stellar Ridge Margaret River
Summit Estate Granite Belt
Sutherlands Creek Vineyard Geelong
Tempus Two Hunter Valley
Tim Adams Clare Valley
Toomuc Ridge Yarra Valley
Tscharke Barossa Valley
Uleybury Wines Adelaide Zone
Vincognita McLaren Vale
Virage Margaret River
Wandering Lane Peel
Wandoo Farm Central Western Australian Zone
Watershed Wines Margaret River
Wilson Vineyard Clare Valley
Wise Wine Margaret River
Wood Park King Valley
Wordsworth Wines Geographe
Yokain Vineyard Estate Geographe
Zonte's Footstep Langhorne Creek
Food Pairing Ideas for Zinfandel
Readers have submitted some ideas at
Vinodiversity's Zinfandel and Food page.
Zinfandel red wines are often robust and have moderate to high alcohol. Thus they can be combined with all sorts of
barbecued meats.
They will also stand up well with spicy Asian dishes, say steak with capsicums and black bean sauce.
You might even try Zinfandel with game meats, say wild boar, hare or grilled kangaroo fillets.
More food pairing ideas for zinfandel. Read what others have suggested, or add
your own favourite Zin and Food recipe.
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