ZINFANDEL

Zinfandel is a red wine grape variety that is extremely popular in California where they consider it as one their 'own', even though it originated in Europe. Although it has been grown in California for well over a century, it took the popularity of the white Zinfandel (blush) wines in the mid 1980s to persuade growers to retain their Zinfandel vines and indeed to plant more. Within 10 years, plantings had doubled and Red Zinfandel had become a Californian icon.

After vinification, Zinfandel wines are often matured in American oak, which gives them a vanilla dimension. There is no single flavour character that can be associated with the grape - it can produce light, jammy, almost Beaujolais-type wines, redolent of freshly crushed berries, through to full-bodied, robust, oak aged wines brimming with ripe, peppery, cassis-like fruits. The best examples can age extremely well.