Best Red Zinfandel Wines
Sort & Filter
Zinfandel's origins are in Croatia and Italy. So Primitivo is another name for it. Primitivo is the Italian name for the wine grape, which is derived from the old Latin words "primativus" and "Primaticcio," both of which imply "early ripener" or "first to ripen." There is a National Zinfandel Day in its current motherland of America. It's celebrated on the 3rd Wednesday in November, just before Thanksgiving, and it's traditionally served with turkey on that day. It took years and a lot of DNA proof to persuade people that this grape originated in Italy, and then even longer to prove that people discovered its oldest seeds in Croatia. Moreover, linguists disagreed about this wine since it had several varied and confusing names, such as Tribidrag and Crljenak Kastelanski.
Zinfandel has a smell that is reminiscent of cooked fruits fresh from the oven. It has predominantly cold-weather scents that are associated with the holidays in the fall and winter. There are notes of berry and stone fruit, as well as cinnamon and sweet tobacco. Zinfandel is an intense, fruit-forward red wine that wine connoisseurs enjoy for its jammy, fruity, smoky qualities, as well as distinct spice overtones. The tastes of Zinfandel include jam, blueberry, black pepper, cherry, plum, boysenberry, cranberry, and licorice. When tasting Zinfandel, expect candied fruitiness first, followed by spices and, most typically, a Smokey tobacco scent.