What is Old Vine Zinfandel?
Old-vine Zinfandel is wine that comes from Zinfandel vines that are decades old. But there’s no official legal definition of what qualifies as an old vine. So, just like with people, a vine’s age is just a number that means different things to different people. Some vineyards are considered old when they reach their 40th birthday; other old vines are more than a century old. The Historic Vineyard Society, a California non-profit dedicated to preserving historic vineyards, considers 50 the minimum age for old vines.
Zinfandel’s California History
Zinfandel has been a part of California’s wine scene since the mid-1800s, when it was first planted in the Sierra Foothills. The Gold Rush brought miners, entrepreneurs, and European immigrants with a taste for wine to the area. It was a time of great social change and in the excitement, the name of the first person to plant Zinfandel in California was never recorded.
Zinfandel is considered as American as baseball and apple pie, largely because you won't find a wine called Zinfandel anywhere else in the world. But in 2001, grape scientists used DNA tests to determine that Zinfandel is identical to Primitivo in Italy. The grape originated in Czechoslovakia, where it’s known as Crljenak Kaštelanski.
Zinfandel vines thrive in California’s hot sunny climate, especially in places like Lodi, Paso Robles, Amador County, and Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. Ripe black Zinfandel grapes produce everything from slightly sweet white Zinfandel rosé to smooth berry-forward red wines with a nice kick to late harvest Zinfandel dessert wines.
While other grapevines typically are replanted after 25 or 30 years, Zinfandel vines show extraordinary longevity, bearing fruit for 150 years or more in the right conditions. The yield is smaller, but many Zin experts such as Robert Biale and Larry Turley believe the fruit improves with age. That’s why winemakers covet fruit from old-vine Zinfandel vineyards like Original Grandpere, which was planted in 1869. The vines are gnarled and twisted, growing in a natural style called head pruned. But California’s oldest Zinfandel vineyard still produces fruit that’s prized by four wineries.
What does old-vine Zinfandel taste like?
A Zinfandel wine’s flavor is shaped by the place the grapes were grown and the decisions the winemaker makes in the cellar. So, old-vine Zinfandels come in a range of styles. Turley’s Old Vines Zinfandel, sourced from tiny old-vine vineyards across California, is a lean, savory, and mineral wine with just a hint of dry dark fruit. By contrast, Seghesio’s old-vine Zin from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley is ripe and jammy, with dark cherry, blackberry, and herbs.
Old Vine Zinfandel Flavors
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What’s so special about old-vine Zinfandel?
Old-vine Zinfandel is a living part of California wine history. For Larry Turley and his winemaker/vineyard manager Tegan Passalacqua, making a wine from forgotten old Zinfandel vineyards is about sustainability, renewal, and honoring California’s viticultural heritage.
As the vines get older, they become more adept at handling annual changes in rainfall, sun, wind, and weather. They send down deep roots, and know how to put the right amount of energy into producing and ripening grape clusters. Grapes from old vines are typically smaller, so there’s more skin, which creates wines with more concentrated flavor and tannins, adding to mouthfeel and structure. And these old-vine Zinfandels become even more stunning when allowed to age and evolve in the cellar.
What are the best old-vine Zinfandel wines to try?
There’s a vibrant community of California winemakers who specialize in old-vine Zinfandels. And others search out older plots for the thrill and challenge of making a wine or two with heirloom vines. Here are some excellent old-vine Zinfandels to explore:
Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel
Based in the Napa Valley, the Biale family has focused on making delicious Zinfandel wines since Prohibition days. The farming family sold vegetables and eggs, and if someone asked for a black chicken, that was code for a bottle of their fruity homemade Zinfandel wine. Today, Biale Zin is a velvety and thrilling wine loaded with dark fruit and spice.
Shop Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel
Carol Shelton Wild Thing Old Vine Zin
Carol Shelton Winery in Sonoma is run by a pioneering woman winemaker who worked with wine industry icons before launching her own brand. She sources organic grapes from Mendocino for her Wild Thing, and ferments with natural yeast. It’s brimming with aromas of raspberries, plums, and sweet tobacco that reflect the vineyards.
Shop Carol Shelton Wild Thing Old Vine Zin
Oak Ridge Winery OZV Zinfandel
The Maggio family from Oak Ridge Winery has been farming in Lodi for five generations; in fact they run the oldest winery in the region. The OZV blends fruit from vines that are 50 to 100 years old into a wine that’s full of ripe, concentrated bramble berries, cherries, and warm baking spices.
Shop Oak Ridge Winery OZV Zinfandel
Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel
Lodi’s ancient and gnarled, head-pruned vines inspired the name for this winery. The owners seek out vineyards that are 35 to 80 years old to make this plush wine full of dark berries and plum, plus spice and vanilla coming from French, American, and Hungarian oak-barrel aging.
Shop Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel
Rombauer Zinfandel
While this popular Napa winery is best known for Chardonnay, they make excellent Zinfandel, too. The flagship bottling sourced from old vineyards in Amador, El Dorado, Lodi and Napa is silky with plum, blueberry, and cocoa notes and a hint of pepper on the finish.
If you’re inspired to learn more about Zinfandel wines, check out our guides on Zinfandel and Primitivo, which is Zinfandel’s Italian brother.
