Roessler will be writing a quarterly column at seasonsonthenet.com
recalling his travels and food and wine discoveries around the world.
The Maverick From California
Referred to as California’s "Maverick Red", Zinfandel has become one of the hottest tickets in the wine marketplace. From it’s early beginnings, when it was brought to the United States from Europe in the late 1800’s, it remained quite anonymous to most people until the 1980’s when a few "Maverick" winemakers found out how wonderful it could be if handled properly. They started to search out the 'old vines', which at that point were in some cases over a hundred years old! Most were located on hillsides and in rocky soils, where those early planters had found the grapes ability to proliferate. The head pruned vines, were still producing wonderful fruit, and when utilizing the new hands on style of winemaking, limiting yield and concentrating on quality, they produced big, juicy, complex red wines.
In some ways Zin is really a jack of all trades, because it produces red, white, rose` and even late harvest wines. It can be versatile, and pairs well with grilled meats, pastas, salmon, bbq’d chicken and savory stews. It’s also a natural with cheeses. One item of interest is it’s inability to be grown outside the reaches of California. It’s truly a California grape varietal!
As more and more people began to appreciate the quality and character of this varietal, more winemakers took notice as well. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, it seems the interest took on new proportion and the market seemed to be teeming with new winemakers, all with their own approach to the varietal. New styles appeared which in many cases created a new option for newcomers to the marketplace. Wine sales were soaring, and people were beginning to find out that it wasn’t just Cabernet and Merlot, when it came to red wine. The idea that Zin needed to be a white wine, became sour grapes, so to speak!
My personal interest was growing about the same time, and while visiting a restaurant in Los Angeles called Peppone’s, the owner, introduced me to Biale Winery. He said, "have you heard of this little winery? It's one you should REALLY try!" Well, I made an immediate mental note, considering he has one of the top 5 or 6 Wine Lists in the United States! A few days later, while in Sonoma, I called the winery, which I found listed in the city of Napa. I was told they didn’t have a tasting room, but if I’d like I could come by and see their 'old vines'. Well, the next day I was on my way to visit with Aldo and Clementina, the owners of the vineyard and their son Robert, who was still working for Beringer Winery at the time. Located just on the northern edge of Napa, Aldo’s Vineyard actually resides among the homes of north Napa. Aldo explained to me that it was originally planted by his father in the early 1900’s, who with his wife Nonna, had come to the States from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. Nonna, incidentally, passed on this past summer at 104 years of age! From that first meeting, I knew I had met someone special. Aldo to this day, and in his early eighties, works the vineyard himself and with his hands, creates grapes that are truly special. If you haven’t tried a bottle of the Biale Aldo’s Vineyard, you’re missing out! On subsequent visits, I would arrive to the smell of foods cooking in Clementina’s kitchen, which we would share with their wines at the kitchen table surrounded by Robert, Aldo, Clementina, Nonna and myself. We shared stories of Italy, and I learned more about winemaking, and about how fabulous this wine called Zinfandel can be.
Today, there are so many new small wineries producing great quality Zinfandel, that it’s difficult to keep up with them all. We’ve maintained some of the successful producers on our list, but are constantly looking to find those up and comers who are making waves in the industry. Our 'soon to be annual' Winter Zinfest features many new and exciting Zins, in addition to the old standbys weare so fond of. I encourage you to try daily specials by the glass, or even in flights of three, so you can taste and compare. Our Zinfest, will follow the annual ZAP Tasting, which is held each January at Fort Mason in San Francisco. It’s a gathering of all the great Zinfandel producers in one location, and it happens just once a year. For a really fun weekend, try to visit it in the future. You can get more information online at www.zap.com. You can call our locations for more information on “Seasons’ Winter Zinfest 2001!
