Know Your Oregon Wine Grapes: Zinfandel

Zinfandel: Zinfandel, also known as Primitivo in Itlay, is a red-skinned wine grape. Commonly referred to as Zin, it is used to produce a popular California wine, known for its intense fruitiness, lush texture, and high alcohol content. Typically, Zinfandel tastes of white pepper with bramble and fresh or fermented red berries. The producers of Zinfandel made a shift from the 1990s into the new millennium with the production style for their dry reds. Although high in alcohol, the wines have thrown off their hot abrasive flavors and the wines have evolved with gentle tannins, and are stated to be rich and tasty from ripe fruit flavors brought out by newer fermentation techniques. This new style of Zinfandel created age worthy Zinfandels of remarkable complexity and finesse, although always with great vigor and power.
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