Dry Creek Zinfandel

by Maggie Bernat Smith

Zinfandel has long been considered California’s “own” grape varietal. The truth is that all of the grape varietals we know today, such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and so on, are all European imports. We previously believed that Zinfandel was an actual American varietal, and claimed it as such, but after tracing its roots back for the past decade or so, we have other possible origins to consider. Zinfandel was thought for some time to actually be Primitivo from Umbria Italy, and now it allegedly has Croatian roots, as an offshoot of the grape Crljenak Kaštelanski. Whatever it might be (it’s hard to keep up), I do believe that California does best with this varietal, and the best place to locate the “Zen of Zin” is the Dry Creek Valley AVA in Sonoma.

I can’t speak about Red Zinfandel without mentioning its evil twin White Zinfandel. Yes, it’s the same grape, but White Zinfandel spends less time on the skins (which gives wine its color) and rather than fermenting it dry like most wines, sugar is left in the wine. White Zinfandel was made famous in the 70’s by Sutter Home…it was created by accident when Bob Trinchero was making a rosé from Zinfandel and the fermentation stopped, leaving more sugar in his wine. Bob decided to put some of this juice aside, tasted it a couple weeks later, and decided to sell it. BOOM! Thus began the White Zinfandel craze, and it hasn’t stopped since! Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a hater to anyone drinking White Zin! I started there just as many other people have and will continue to do in the future. It’s a perfect gateway to start developing your palate for wine.

Let’s get away from the “non-serious” Zinfandels—those with the clever, over-the-top names or the wild, eye-catching packaging; I’m want to spotlight the people that are making crazily complex Zins in their sacred home in Dry Creek Valley. Famous names include Dry Creek Vineyards (a pioneer in Dry Creek), A. Rafanelli (only available on fine wine lists) Dashe, Seghesio, Pezzi-King…and the list goes on. These are not the over-heated, super-ripe wines of Lodi, these are the complex, nuanced, fine wines of a cooler climate. The morning fogs from the Pacific help retain the acidity in the wines, yet it’s still warm enough here to get the grapes fully ripened without being “overcooked.”

The Dry Creek “Beeson Ranch” Zinfandel has such an explosion of potpourri, pepper, anise, damp earth, black and red fruits on the nose and has even more of these on the palate. It keeps evolving and surprising you with each sip you take. Finding wines like this for a $35 price point can be difficult, especially when you think of the Cabernet family and how much you’d normally have to spend to get this kind of complexity. Next time you are thinking of BBQ ribs, for example, pick up a bottle of a Dry Creek Zin, then sit back and let the magic happen!

Willamette Valley Harvest 2010--Thus Far

by Maggie Bernat Smith

We love wine because it tells us a story. A tale of where it was grown, different varietal expressions, what the winemaker did to it when it was picked, and how the weather was that year. Wine is a delicious voice of all these things. It’s what makes us listen to it, analyze it, debate about it, and keep going back for more.

The red wine voice of Willamette Valley Oregon is Pinot Noir. It just happens to be one of the most expressive red wines in the world. Its delicate nature and thin skin has this grape wearing its heart on its sleeve and for those of us with a love for Pinot accept it and will love her no matter what. I am here in Willamette Valley Oregon right now working this 2010 harvest where the grapes are still hanging on the vines (typically they would have been picked 2-3 weeks ago). I sought the advice of Van Duzer Vineyards winemaker Jerry Murray to help me understand and what to predict this vintage.

Despite the tough start to the year, and the rocky mid-season, the end of the season is giving us the sunshine which mother nature does not normally provide this time of year. Traditionally in Oregon, it’s a race to pick the grapes before the rainy season hits. Mother nature is being very kind to Willamette Valley right now so there’s hope to pull this vintage off yet. Jerry Murray, winemaker at Van Duzer Vineyards (one of my personal favorites) said “the problem with this season is that to get to the point of physiological maturity (100-110 days) we need to hang the grapes during a window that is typically not conducive to clean and concentrated fruit; rain and cold. We are incredibly lucky that the season has played out the way it has.” He picks exclusively on the flavor of the grapes, he says that if you relied on sugar ripeness alone, you may not get there this year but if the flavors and complexity are there then the wine will be good.

It’s extremely difficult to predict what the wines will ultimately taste like until they are maturing, most of the valley has not picked their fruit yet, but I asked Jerry what we can expect as a comparison to the 2007 and 2008 vintages which are on the shelves now. He says “these wines will obviously be low alcohol making them similar to 2007 and 2008. Unlike 2007, the wines should show good concentration because, as of yet and knock on wood, the rain hasn’t caused any dilution. I suspect that acids will be higher than the 2008’s, this season has been much cooler and the grapes are holding on to their acids. Expect classic Pinot; elegance, focus, layers. Expect these wines be rest on smaller, tighter, more compact frames than most vintages. This vintage is going to be one for TRUE Pinot Lovers, not those who prefer their Pinot’s to resemble Sumo Wrestlers in a dress.”

Sounds great to this classic Pinot Noir lover!