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Zinfandel
Top regions producing this wine: |
Often referred to as “America’s Heritage Grape,” Zinfandel is the quintessential California grape. It is just this unpretentious, homegrown mystique that attracts anti-wine snobs to the many varied styles of Zinfandel. Historically, the grape is tied to the Gold Rush era. Alcohol was in high demand with thirsty miners, and Zinfandel, whose vines are capable of producing high yields, was readily available for consumption. Practical considerations also helped to propagate the vine. The materials used to build the gold mines made timber and wire scarce. The Zinfandel vine could be planted without wire or post, in a freestanding bush shape known as “head pruned.” The quintessential California grape is anything but American in origin, though. In the 1990s, UC Davis Professor Carole Meredith confirmed that Zinfandel and Italy’s Primitivo have the same DNA structure, leading to speculation that Italian immigrants may have brought the vine to California. However in 2002, Meredith and her colleagues published the discovery that Zinfandel and the Croatian grape Crjenak Kaštelanski have identical DNA, and that Croatia may be the place of origin for this grape. Zinfandel’s telltale bold flavors vary from raspberry liqueur to exotic Asian spice, chocolate and pepper notes. It’s generally high in alcohol, with rich, syrupy fruit and a lush texture, making it a favorite of another American tradition — barbecue. Whatever its origin, Zinfandel is purely an American wine phenomenon. |
Sparkling Wine
Top producing countries: |
While most associate sparkling wine with Champagne, the French region that made it famous, effervescence in wine has been observed since the beginnings of winemaking. Greek and Roman writers made note of bubbles in their wine, and over the years the cause of the bubbles was attributed to any number of things, including the phases of the moon. The tendency for wines in Champagne to contain bubbles was originally scorned because it often caused bottles in storage to explode, sometimes leading to a chain reaction of blasts that could devastate a wine cellar. It wasn't until the 1600s, when glassblowers in England started producing stronger bottles and the use of cork stoppers was introduced, that Champagne’s sparkling characteristics became desirable. Once winemakers realized that adding sugar to wine before bottling would create a sparkling wine, their production began to spread to other countries and locations (though the name “Champagne” continues to define this class of wine in everyday parlance). Many sparkling wines and most Champagnes indicate their sweetness level on the label, ranging from the almost completely dry Brut Natural to the dessert-like Doux. The vast majority are either Brut or Extra Dry, with Extra Dry actually being less dry than Brut. Champagne is made from only three grapes — Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier — and sometimes from only one (Blanc de Blancs is all Chardonnay, Blanc de Noirs is made with all red grapes, usually just Pinot Noir). While producers in California and many regions outside of Champagne usually stick with this selection, sparklers can be made from a variety of grapes, including Moscato (used in Italy’s Asti), Chenin Blanc (included in sparklers from the Loire), and even Shiraz (in the occasional red sparkling wine from Australia), and lesser-known native grapes are used in Prosecco, Italy’s drier sparkling wine, and the Cavas of Spain. |
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