Joe "Beppe" Rosenberg
Zinfandels: How did the grape get to Italy?
I) I am repeating an earlier post on the origins of zinfandel. Here is the latest from Carole Meredith, UC Davis on Zin, Primativo & Plavic Mali. This is response to my inquiry in January 2000.
"We have not published a paper on the relationship among these varieties. We have, however, studied the first three. I can tell you briefly that Zinfandel and Primitivo are synonyms for the same variety. (There may be some clonal differences between the Zin grown in California and the Primitivo grown in Italy because they have been separated for a significant period of time.)
Plavac Mali is not the same variety but is likely a close relative--maybe a parent or an offspring of Zin/Prim. We have not studied Vranac at all."
Carole Meredith
II) Additionally there is this history from Zinfanel Advocates and Producers taken from this wine site: ZIN IN AMERICA
III) Source: Zinfandel Advocates & Producers
1822-1829 Long Island nurseryman George Gibbs makes several grapevine imports from the imperial collection in Vienna, one of which included Zinfandel.
1832 Boston nurseryman Samuel Perkins advertises the `Zinfendal' vine for sale.
1835-1845 The `Zinfindal' becomes a popular table grape in the Northeast, grown under glass.
1846 New England viticulture expert J.F. Allen describes the Zinfandel in his book, America's first scholarly book on viticulture.
1850s After the Gold Rush in California Zinfandel was widely planted because it grew abundantly as a head-pruned vine.
1852-1857 Frederick Macondray from Massachusetts, in conjunction with nurserymen in California, brings Zinfandel vines to California.
1859 Zinfandel introduced to Sonoma and Napa by J.W. Osborne and William Boggs.
1859-1863 Zinfandel discovered to be an excellent variety for red table wine in the Sonoma and Santa Clara Valleys and the Sierra Foothills.
1865-1870 The spelling of `Zinfindal' is somehow agreed to be `Zinfandel.'
1870-1878 Zinfandel becomes popular all over northern California.
1878-1889 Zinfandel is the most planted variety during California's first wine boom.
1883-1885 Arpad Haraszthy's claim that his father Agoston introduced Zinfandel to California is accepted by most writers after a heated debate. This claim holds until broken in the 1970s by the first thorough research on the subject.
1890 -1900 Most of northern California's vineyards are destroyed by phylloxera, although some Zinfandel vines survived because they were planted on resistant rootstock.
1900 -1912 California vineyards are replanted; Zinfandel is the leading varietal in the production of red table wine blends. A few wineries produce a varietal Zinfandel.
1919 -1933 During Prohibition wine as a commercial beverage is illegal; Zinfandel is very popular amongst home winemakers; Zinfandel is one of the top five varieties.
1933 -1960 Zinfandel continues to be an important variety in most red table wines; a few wineries develop a reputation for outstanding Zinfandel varietal wines.
1960 -1975 A sturdy, well-structured style of Zinfandel becomes popular.
1967 While visiting Bari in southern Italy Prof. Austin Goheen (of UC Davis) tastes a wine, asks to see the vines which produced it and recognizes them as Zinfandel; locally the grape is called Primitivo di Gioia.
1972 Bob Trinchero of Sutter Home Winery in the Napa Valley drew off free-run juice from Zinfandel from Amador County; he fermented this as `white' wine, although it had a slight pinkish cast.
1976 Zinfandel-related research findings announced at the American Society of Enology & Viticulture conference:
1) Wade Wolfe shows that Primitivo is probably the same as Zinfandel and
2) Charles Sullivan traces Zinfandel from New England to California.
1978 -1985 The `blockbuster' style of Zinfandel becomes a `hard sell' and many wineries take a `fine wine' approach to Zinfandel style; White Zinfandel has become very popular; for example, Sutter Home Winery's production has grown from 225 cases in 1972 to 25,000 cases in 1981 (by 1998 Sutter Home produces 5,000,000 cases of its White Zinfandel).
1983 Leon Adams may be the first to suggest that the Plavac Mali grape of Croatia may be the same as Zinfandel.
1985 -1998 Renewed popularity of varietally labeled Zinfandel with wines available in numerous price brackets.
1989 Prof. James Wolpert (UC Davis), UC Extension Viticulturist Emeritus Amand Kasimatis, Napa County Farm Advisor Ed Weber and Sonoma County Farm Advisor Rhonda Smith begin going on old Zinfandel `safaris,' searching for vineyards planted before 1930.
1990 -1998 Zinfandel vineyards in California have grown from a total of 34,000 to 50,000 acres; this establishes Zinfandel once more as the state's number one red wine variety, as it was 100 years earlier. 1991 Angels' Visits by David Darlington is the first book on Zinfandel.
1991 -1992 Zinfandel Advocates & Producers is created as a non-profit educational 501(c)(3) organization to advance the public's knowledge for America's `heritage' wine, with its unique place in American culture and history.
1993 ZAP supports the creation of a Zinfandel Aroma Wheel, which is researched and developed by Prof. Ann Noble of UC Davis.
1994 Using DNA fingerprinting, Prof. Carole Meredith (UC Davis) shows that Zinfandel and Primitivo di Gioia are the same variety.
1995 James Wolpert begins planting vines from his Zinfandel safaris in the Zinfandel Heritage Vineyard at UC Davis' Experimental Station at Oakville in the Napa Valley. The one-acre Vineyard, with bale clay loam soils, contains 7 vines each from 57/63 different Zinfandel vineyards from Sonoma, Mendocino, Contra Costa, San Luis Obispo, San Joaquin and Napa Counties. The vines are head-trained and spur-pruned, spaced 9' x 8'.
1995 A true white (albino) Zinfandel vine is discovered in San Joaquin County.
1998 Following field research in Croatia and California and DNA analysis in her Davis lab, Prof. Meredith establishes that Plavac Mali and Zinfandel are not the same variety, but are closely related. ZAP donates $25,000 to the Heritage Vineyard. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown cuts the opening ribbon at the 7th Annual Zinfandel Tasting in San Francisco, which attracts 5,000 attendees and becomes a contender for the Guinness Record for the `World's Largest Tasting of One Varietal.'
1999 Zinfandel can be found in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington State although the greatest amount is in California. In recent years it has been planted in Australia and South Africa.
1999 Zinfandel is the only wine grape varietal considered to be unique to the U.S. by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. "
It is highly likely that Zin cuttings made their way to Vienna in the 1820's IMHO, also they travelled south to Italy. When I don't know, but I imagine by the late 1800's. I'm sure there is someone in Italy who can tell us. I'm going to save this post so it can be repeated everytime someone asks about zinfandel. It probably should go in the FAQ part of this ng, along with books for beginners and "I didn't know they made zinfandel in red too".