Zinfandel is a thoroughly exciting grape variety that can already be described as a kind of national grape variety of California. The grape variety was brought to North America by Italian immigrants at the beginning of the 19th century. This also makes it clear that the Italian Primitivo and the American Zinfandel have the same genetics, i.e. they are the same grape varieties, just with different names.
The grape variety loves warmth and there is plenty of it in the sunny state of California. Lodi is located below the city of Sacramento. This is where the first Zinfandel vines were planted and even today there are still very old Zinfandel vineyards with bony vines aged 60-80 years and even older. This is why the label also says "old vin"! The older the vine, the fewer grapes it bears, but with a very concentrated fruit and aroma - an essential quality feature.

Profile

Wine: 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel
Winemaker: Gnarly Head
Grape variety: 100% Zinfandel
Vintage: 2014
Region: Lodi, Central Valley
Soil: sandy loam
Ideal drinking temperature: 15-16 degrees Celsius
Award: IWSC 2013 - Gold Medal
Price: from 10,90 € /bottle

The wine

The Zinfandel grape variety has the characteristic that its grapes ripen differently. There are already ripe and not yet ripe berries on a bunch. However, the grapes are only harvested when all the berries are ripe. This means that a bunch of grapes contains ripe and overripe berries. This results in a particularly broad spectrum of aromas, from juicy, fresh red to dark berry fruit, through to dried fruit. But there are also pleasantly spicy notes, a touch of vanilla and seductive cocoa notes. It is a powerful and full-bodied wine, but with very soft tannins. We recommend enjoying it with food.

The winemaker and the region

The Indelicato family, who have been successfully growing wine in California for over 90 years now, launched the "Gnarly Head" wine line in 2004. Pleasant and particularly accessible wines, such as this Zinfandel, are made from selected vineyard sites and regions in California.
In this case, the family chose the old vineyards around Lodi for the Zinfandel. Although the area is very warm, it benefits from the cooling influence of the Pacific thanks to the extension of San Pablo Bay. As a result, the grapes are not too concentrated and have perfect tension and structure.

Pairs perfectly with

Barbecue, hard cheese, grilled vegetables, enchiladas, spicy food and dark chocolate

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