The theme for this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend (#WinePW) is Zinfandel – America’s Grape!

Each of our writers will find a Zinfandel wine(the wine should have at least 75% zinfandel grapes) and pair it with food.

About Zinfandel

First why “America’s Grape? I’ll let none other than Paul Draper, who along with Robert Mondavi and André Tchelistcheff are the only Americans honored as the Decanter’ Men of the Year, explain it.

In the book “On California-From Napa to Nebbiolo…Tales from the Golden State”, he wrote “Enter Zinfandel, the Horatio Alger of varietals, the ‘True American’. Born of peasant stock somewhere in Europe, Zinfandel did not make its name or fortune in its native land…Not until it was planted on the hillsides of California’s cool North Coast did it find its ideal soils and climate…The orphan had found a home where, properly handled, it could produced wine of such quality that it might some day stand beside the noblest varieties in the world“

More about Zinfandel

• The grape we know as Zinfandel, originated in Croatia and its historic name is Tribidrag.
• “Old vine” Zinfandel vineyards of 50 to 100 years of age or older are special in many ways and can produce can elegant wines with a distinct sense of place of the vineyard.
• Zinfandel tasted different depending on the region where it’s grown
• National Zinfandel Day is the 3rd Wednesday in November (Yes, Zin pairs excellently with turkey!).
• Zinfandel (aka Primitivo) is the fourth most planted wine grape in California (after Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir)

For more information about Zinfandel, I invite you to Zinfandel Advocated & Producers “ZAP” website where you’ll find resources including recipes and an “Aroma wheel” specifically for Zinfandel.

Are you a fan of Zinfandel? Are you looking for food pairing ideas for Zinfandel? Then join us!

Here’s what our wine and food bloggers will be sharing:

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is Inspired by Notes of Asian Spices: Braised Spareribs + Brown Estate Zinfandel 2021
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm shares Pasta with Sausage and Eggplant in a Zinfandel Wine Sauce
• Gwendolyn of the Wine Predator is all in with A Vegetarian Feast: “VegTurducken” paired with 5 CA Zinfandels #WinePW
• Terri of A Good Life pairs Bucklin Bambino Zin with French Onion Soup #WinePW
• I’ll be sharing Roasted Salmon Glazed with Brown Sugar and Mustard + 2013 Under The Wire Sparkling Zinfandel Rosé

________________________________________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Vivino andfor all things wine.  As a wino with latent foodie tendencies, you’ll also find food and wine pairings, and food related stuff! Become a fan and join ENOFYLZ Wine Blog on Facebook. Cheers!

Copyright Notice: This entire site is Copyrighted 2010-2022. All Rights Reserved. No unauthorized copying of any section of this site is permitted. If you wish to use any part of this site, contact me. For information on Copyright Law, see the official U.S. Copyright Office home page.