112 year old Lodi Zinfandel

Another major development signaling the maturity of Zinfandel, says Byers, was the 2013 ZAP’s inclusion of “a Terroir Tasting Area to compare and contrast flavor profiles between different Zinfandel growing regions like Dry Creek, the Sierra Foothills, or Lodi.” In a ZAP Flights seminar, taking place the day before the Grand Tasting, the Historic Vineyard Society – dedicated to the preservation of heritage vineyards throughout the state – put on a terroir-focused tasting of three of California’s major Zinfandel regions (including Lodi, presented by Turley Wine Cellars’ Tegan Passalacqua). With increased sophistication of Zinfandel lovers comes increased appreciation of the specific vineyards from where the finest Zinfandels are sourced. Says Byers, “Perhaps the two wines that impressed me the most were the McCay Cellars Truluck’s Vineyard Zinfandel from Lodi and the Andis Winery Estate Zinfandel from Amador. Both of those wines broke the mold of their regions. While words like rustic and tannic are often attached to the wines of the Sierra Foothills, and raisined and ripe to those of Lodi, both these wines were fruity, stylish, flavorful, and balanced.”