ZINFANDEL >>><<< CALIFORNIA STUDIES IN FOOD AND CULTURE DARRA GOLDSTEIN, EDITOR 1. Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices andrew dalby 2. Eating Right in the Renaissance ken albala 3. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health marion nestle 4. Camembert: A National Myth pierre boisard 5. Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism marion nestle 6. Eating Apes dale peterson 7. Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet harvey levenstein 8. Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America harvey levenstein 9. Encarnación’s Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California, Selections from Encarnación Pinedo’s El cocinero español encarnacio´n pinedo edited and translated by dan strehl, with an essay by victor valle 10. Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and Its Wine charles l. sullivan, with a foreword by paul draper zinfandel A HISTORY OF A GRAPE AND ITS WINE >>><<< charles l. sullivan FOREWORD BY PAUL DRAPER UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY • LOS ANGELES • LONDON Unless otherwise noted, all photographs and drawings are from the author’s collection. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2003 by the Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sullivan, Charles L. (Charles Lewis), 1932–. Zinfandel : a history of a grape and its wine / Charles L. Sullivan ; foreword by Paul Draper. p. cm.—(California studies in food and culture ; 10) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. isbn 0-520-23969-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Grapes—California—History. 2. Viticulture—California—History. 3. Wine and wine making—California—History. I. Title. II. Series. sb389.s94 2003 634.8Ј09794—dc21 2002156534 Manufactured in the United States of America 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 987654321 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper).᭺ϱ For Gail Unzelman NO WAYWARD TENDRIL >>><<< MENDOCINO N O R T H C C O S A I E S E T R N U.C. R SONOMA NAPA T Davis A EL R DORADO F O Sonoma A AMADOR Napa O L Lodi T U.C. Berkeley H SAN I San Francisco V JOAQUIN L L A S L L E Y MADERA FRESNO Paso Robles SAN LUIS OBISPO KERN Los Angeles 020406080100 miles Zinfandel country. Shaded counties are the leading Zinfandel producers in their regions. CONTENTS >>><<< list of illustrations / ix foreword / xiii preface / xvii acknowledgments / xxi 1. How I Solved the Historical Mysteries Surrounding Zinfandel— Sort Of / 1 2. Sojourn in the East / 9 3. Ho! For California! / 23 4. Plant Your Vineyards! Begin Now! / 31 5. Boom! 1872–1890 / 40 6. The Haraszthy Myth / 51 7. The Stealth Grape, 1891–1918 / 72 8. Prohibition and the Fresh Grape Deal, 1919–1933 / 84 9. The Two Faces of Zin, 1934–1969 / 98 10. Of Pendulums and Roller Coasters, 1970–1990 / 116 11. Fat Years, 1991–2001 / 130 12. The Mystery of Origins Solved—Probably / 147 13. Into the New Century / 167 appendix: regional summaries / 179 notes / 193 select bibliography / 209 index / 213 ILLUSTRATIONS >>><<< Figures 1. William Robert Prince / 14 2. Charles M. Hovey / 17 3. James L. L. Warren’s 1844 catalogue / 21 4. Frederick W. Macondray / 26 5. Antoine Delmas with sons Joseph and Delphin / 28 6. General Mariano Vallejo’s Lachryma Montis estate / 35 7. The steamer Zinfandel / 43 8. Ruby Hill Winery / 46 9. Agoston Haraszthy / 53 10. Orleans Hill Winery / 61 11. Arpad Haraszthy / 66 12. Bill for ten gallons of Zinfandel wine sold by Arpad Haraszthy’s San Francisco firm / 70 13. Ancient Amador County Zinfandel vine measured against Rosslyn Sullivan’s height / 78 14. Karl Louis Kunde / 82 15. Wildwood Vineyard, near Glen Ellen / 83 ix 16. John Pedroncelli Jr. and his father, John Pedroncelli Sr., examine a Zinfandel vine in their Dry Creek Valley vineyard / 93 17. Old station at Asti, the Italian Swiss Colony in northern Sonoma County, and Andrea Sbarboro’s country estate / 95 18. Louis P. Martini and Smokey examine grapes, Monte Rosso Vineyard / 102 19. Frank Schoonmaker / 104 20. Paul Draper / 109 21. One of the earliest heralds of Zinfandel’s rebirth as a fine table wine: a 1968 wine produced for Darrell Corti / 112 22. Joseph Swan at his winery in Forestville / 113 23. One of Joseph Swan’s early Zinfandel triumphs / 114 24. Vines at Ridge Vineyards look out on the Santa Clara Valley / 121 25. Lombardo Fossati winery, El Dorado County / 123 26. An early batch of White Zinfandel, from Sutter Home / 127 27. Annual tasting organized by Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, Fort Mason, San Francisco / 131 28. James Wolpert checks out Zinfandel grapes, Oakville / 137 29. Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson as a boy / 141 30. Plavac Mali wine label, from Mike Grgich’s winery in Croatia / 159 31. Team that discovered the genetic match between California’s Zinfandel and Croatia’s Crljenak Kasˇtelanski / 161 32. Crljenak Kasˇtelanski, of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast / 163 x / illustrations Tables 1. Gallons of wine produced, ca. 1905 / 80 2. Zinfandel tons crushed, 1974–2002 / 187 3. Zinfandel acres, 1936–2001 / 188 4. Zinfandel price per ton, 1972–2002 / 189 5. Zinfandel acres, 1919–2001 / 190 6. Zinfandel tons per bearing acre, 1982–2001 / 191 illustrations / xi FOREWORD >>><<< PAUL DRAPER WINEMAKER, CEO, RIDGE VINEYARDS charles sullivan’s timely book presents a full history of the grape that is at the heart of California’s contribution to the world of fine wine. Just as Bordeaux established the reputation of Cabernet Sauvignon, Bur- gundy of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the northern Rhône of Syrah, so California has established Zinfandel and set its standard of excellence. Cali- fornia today challenges, as do other wine regions of the world, the supremacy of the great wines of France. But with those varietals we are the challengers; we did not establish their reputation. Zinfandel cuttings from California thrive in Australia, South Africa, and the south of France, as well as in a number of other countries. The same grape variety has been grown in southern Italy since the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century under the name Primitivo, yet the wines produced have failed to establish a reputation for quality. As all these wines improve, they, too, will become challengers. I hope they will push California Zinfandels to still higher quality. We now know that Zinfandel is not originally from Italy, but some Cali- fornia producers are worried because of that country’s extensive Primitivo plantings. There are clonal variations within any old varietal; on this basis, xiii these Californians have asserted that the two are not the same. In France and elsewhere, however, an even larger number of Pinot Noir clones differ as much or more than do Zinfandel and Primitivo—yet no one would think of claiming that they are not the same varietal. On the scientific evidence, the European Union has declared Zinfandel and Primitivo synonymous; since the United States accepts any wine label certified by the country of origin, Primitivo wine can be sold in this country under the name Zinfandel. The concerned producers feel that the Italians could take unfair advantage of the name and reputation we have built. But I fear memories are short. We in Cali- fornia continue to take advantage of our European colleagues by using desig- nations such as Champagne, Burgundy, Chablis, and Port—and think noth- ing of it. I am sure Bordeaux producers have been less than delighted with the competition provided by California Cabernets, but they have been challenged to improve their own wines. In any case, the market will distinguish between California Zinfandel and Italian Zinfandel, just as it distinguishes Chilean and Australian Cabernets from California Cabernet. The author also covers the organization Zinfandel Advocates and Produc- ers—affectionately known as ZAP. In addition to its work with the Heritage Vineyard collection, ZAP sponsors trade and consumer tastings around the United States and Europe. The largest and most unusual of these takes place in San Francisco each year on a Saturday late in January. In 2002, ten thou- sand people tasted their choice of more than six hundred wines from roughly three hundred California producers. This alone is impressive, and unmatched by any tasting of a single varietal anywhere in the world. More important, however, and most encouraging for the future of wine as a part of our culture, has been the attitude of the majority of tasters. They are judging what is in the glass rather than the name on the label—a sure sign of a maturing attitude to- ward wine in America. In 1998, geneticist Dr. Carole Meredith of the University of California at Davis traveled to Croatia to investigate claims that the major Croatian red wine grape, Plavac mali, was the same variety as Zinfandel. Working with two researchers from the University of Zagreb, she determined that this was not the case. But genetic testing did prove that the two grapevines share half of xiv / foreword their DNA—they are closely related. In the fall of 2001, the Croatian re- searchers found a vine, called Crljenak (Tzerl-yen’-ak), that is the same vari- ety as Zinfandel, and several other varieties that are closely related to Zinfan- del but not the same. As Sullivan explains, “One of the principles of crop plant genetics posits the high probability that a center of genetic diversity in the form of close relatives is also the place of origin of the specific plant to which all appear related. Because the Zinfandel has numerous close relatives in Croatia, it is probable that Croatia is the place of origin.” By fall 2002, nine vines had been confirmed in one vineyard, and several other strong candi- dates were under investigation; scientific evidence had demonstrated an overwhelming probability that Zinfandel had originated in Croatia.