A Japanese curry spiced dish perfect with Zinfandel. Red zinfandel is known for its rich, dark purple color scheme, medium to high tannin levels, high alcohol content, and medium acidity. Serve zinfandel in a red wine glass at cellar temperature (60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit). However, although a light-bodied red wine like Pinot Noir, Zin’s moderate tannin and high acidity make it taste bold. Use highly flavored vegetables to bring out the fruitiness in Zinfandel such as roasted tomato, red peppers, carmelized onion, roasted squash, apricot, peach, cranberry, spiced apple, and beets. Old vine zinfandels are red wines made from grapevines over 50 years old. Red zinfandel is often easy to find in grocery stores, wine shops, and liquor stores. Croatia once had several indigenous varieties related to Zinfandel, which formed the basis of its wine industry in the 19th century. Zinfandel works well with Barbecue red meats and lamb. @WineFolly. Zinfandel is lighter in color than both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Once thought to be native to California, the dark blue zinfandel grape can be used to make bold red wine or "white zin," a pink, affordable wine. Higher alcohol adds an oily texture and bigger, bolder body. While the red wine tends to be medium-bodied and medium dry, it is … International bestseller. Look for high elevation wines for the best quality. Zinfandel is the only grape in the world with a festival dedicated to it? I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. These varieties were al… This creates a lighter-hued, lighter-bodied wine with lighter tannins and low alcohol. As much as wine snobs bash it, White Zinfandel offers everything a beginner might want: At $5 a bottle White Zinfandels taste fine, but most lack the complexity to be compared to the red version of the same grape. White zin can be chilled if desired and can be served right away. Look for hard and richly flavored cow’s and sheep’s milk cheeses such as Manchego, Bandage-wrapped Cheddar and Trentingrana.

Easy-to-drink, sweet white zinfandel pairs well with a variety of savory foods. Zinfandel is typically grown in the summer and harvested as early as mid-August or well into fall, often called a "late harvest" zin. credit. You'll typically find a number of options from California vineyards. These are prized for their intense color and balanced flavors and often fetch a high price. Pro tip: Pick out the spices you taste in the wine and add them to your sauce. Generally speaking, most Zinfandel wines have higher alcohol levels ranging from about 14 – 17% ABV. Archaeological evidence indicates that domestication of Vitis vinifera occurred in the Caucasus region around 6000 BCE, and winemaking was discovered shortly after that. Since Zinfandel leans on the sweeter side of red wine, it’s a great pairing partner with spiced barbecue dishes and curry. While zinfandel isn't well-known as an aging wine, good bottles of red are candidates for cellaring. Pork tonkatsu is a Japanese dish served with a richly spiced curry sauce. The spicing and savory-sweet quality of this dish make it a perfect wine pairing partner with Zinfandel. Follow these simple steps when tasting wine to ensure you have the best experience: Zinfandel is one of the most popular wine grapes grown in California and is especially popular in northern California and the central coast. Perfect Zinfandel Food Pairing This diversity suggests that the grapes have been grown in Croatia longer than anywhere else.

Red Zinfandel wine can offer serious presence and sophistication. The following brands make reliably good zinfandels and are widely available: Freelance writer and wine expert, author of ""Idiots Guides: Wine""; as well as several magazine and online articles.

Zinfandel is lighter in color than both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The pink wine goes for about $5 to $10 a bottle. Creating great tasting cocktails at home is easy once you have some recipes. White zins tend to be lightly sweet with flavors of strawberry, cherry, and citrus. If you can't find a red zin, pick up a pinot noir instead.

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. White zinfandel was pioneered by Sutter Homes, and a number of other low-cost brands make their own version. Serve it as a counterpoint to spiced Cajun to Asian cuisines, barbecue chicken, or spicy seafood. The Spruce Eats uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. While the red wine tends to be medium-bodied and medium dry, it is bursting with flavors and aromas of jam, raspberry, blackberry, cherry, plums, cinnamon, black pepper, and licorice all wrapped around various intensities of oak. Good draining is key, making them good for planting on slopes.