This is what good wine from the Zinfandel grape tastes like

Since the early nineteenth century, red wine has been made in California from the Zinfandel grape. These wines are typically generous, soft and spicy, with notes of blackberry, aniseed and black pepper. They can be tannic, and the best can be kept for years.

Zinfandel did not originate in California - it was brought there from Europe at the start of the nineteenth century. Exactly who brought it isn't a hundred percent certain.

What is certain is that Zinfandel is genetically identical to the southern Italian Primitivo grape from Puglia. For a long time, the origin of Primitivo wasn't entirely clear either. Initially many thought it was identical to the Croatian Plavac Mali, until DNA research in 2001 revealed that the Croatian Tribidrag, also known as Crljenak, is the 'original ancestor' of both Primitivo and Zinfandel.

In California, these findings weren't exactly welcomed with joy. Zinfandel is considered a flagship of the wine industry there, one winegrowers had invested heavily in. Once it became clear that Zinfandel was identical to Primitivo, Italian winemakers started exporting their Primitivos to America under the name Zinfandel. Croatians did the same with their Plavac Mali. American winemakers tried to protect 'their' Zinfandel through the courts, but without success.