ZINFANDEL, SMINFANDEL
California senator formulates an unexpected bill, professing sudden dedication to the Golden State grape
BY LINDSEY WHIPPLE

A big slap in the face was given to California's most Nobile grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir when a bill was set in motion in early February by Democratic State Sen. Carole Migden to establish California's "quintessential" grape varietal, Zinfandel, as the state grape. 

Sen. Migden represents the 3rd District in the California State Senate, which comprises the eastern half of the City and County of San Francisco, all of Marin County, and portions of Sonoma County, including and surrounding the communities of Petaluma and Rohnert Park. She was elected to the Senate in November 2004.

Sen. Migden stated during her introduction of the bill to California legislators, "Zinfandel is the quintessential California wine, and Zinfandels go with just about any food, and thus are suited to represent a state with such a rich diversity of cuisines and cultures."

It is a bold statement to dub Zinfandel as the perfect embodiment of Californian wine. Zinfandel is typically a heavy, highly concentrated wine with dark black berry flavors in taste and aroma with a high-alcohol content in the 16th percentile or higher, which is most enjoyed with a first date. There are also lighter styles with alcohol content in the 13th percentile, which are typically used as cheap table wines. 

Migden is correct in stating Zinfandel's Californian food pairing versatility, but any true Californian wine aficionado would choose a cheap Zinfandel with their In-and-Out Burger, but would rather enjoy an aged out Napa Valley Bordeaux blend with their slow-braised beef short ribs.

Wine lovers and connoisseurs are wondering what the senator's reasoning is for a bill with such an unexpected arrival on her agenda. One reason may be that Zinfandel has an interesting and mysterious façade surrounding it, in concern to its origin in the United States and the state of California.

Recent studies, conducted mostly by to Charles Sullivan, a wine historian and author of the 2003 book, Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and Its Wine, indicates that the first Zinfandel grape was found in a Long Island nursery in the 1820s, arriving from the gardens of an Austrian Imperial Palace in Vienna, which had vines from all over the world residing in it.

Sullivan goes on to say that Zinfandel was brought from New York to California in the 1850s by an unknown sea captain and horticulturist. Sullivan ends Zinfandel's journey in 1859 in Sonoma County where the vine began to flourish, and he also dismisses the popular notion that Zinfandel was brought to California in 1859 by Hungarian nobleman, Count Agoston Haraszthy.

Although Sullivan's history of Zinfandel's arrival in the United States and California is interesting, it must be noted that Zinfandel is indigenous to Puglia, Italy where it is not highly regarded and known as Primitivo. Zinfandel is not a native varietal of California.

It's a sweet thought and action of Sen. Migden in attempting to establish Zinfandel as California's state grape on the basis of Sullivan's research, and at one point Zinfandel was California's most widely planted varietal.

Does Sen. Migden understand that Zinfandel, by no means, produces the majority of California's best wine, but for the sake of us all, Zinfandel produces the majority of California's worst wine - White Zinfandel?

It is also important to point out the crucial fact that California is the most populous state which accounts for 94 percent of this nation's wine. Instituting Zinfandel as California's state grape creates an idea to the world of wine that the United State's most fine wines come from Californian Zinfandel.

Since Sen. Migden represents Marin County and Sonoma County, both areas where some of California's best Zinfandel wines are produced, it is obviously suspected according to Sullivan, that the Sonoma wine guys have wooed her to lobby for such a bill. This statement is being the basis of the senator formulating the unexpected bill, and her sudden overwhelming dedication to the wonderful Nobile grape, Zinfandel. 

Migden does not realize how large an impact this bill will have in the wine industry. Obviously, Californians are serious about their wines, for example, the "Sideway's Effect." One little boy's behaving badly "B" movie shifted the Californian palate toward Pinot Noir, and in effect the United States shifted its palate toward Pinot Noir. For the record, Pinot Noir is one of the world's most prestigious grape varietals. The United States is finally drinking respectable wine; we do not need to go backward because Sen. Migden clearly has a beginner's palate. LW