Grape & Grain | How zinfandel left behind its ’80s blush party image and found a discerning, red-wine-loving crowd

Zinfandel might have once been considered a bit of a one-trick pony, paraded around in pink as a white zinfandel blush. And while that style appeals to one segment of Hong Kong’s wine scene – the fun-loving, wine-by-the-glass crowd – there are also more serious zinfandels worth considering.

Up until the late 1980s, the popular sweet blush style marketed as “white zinfandel” swallowed up the bulk of California’s zin production. Sold in five-litre casks with handy plastic spouts, white zinfandel’s commercial success resulted in a serious loss of cachet. But red zinfandel bounced back, making a return to fashion in the 1990s.

The ancient grape, introduced to the US from Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, has prospered in California’s volcanic loam since the gold rush. No other variety has made itself so at home there.

Capable of shouldering alcohol levels that reach into the mid-teens, the grape was a hot topic at the California Wines Summit in May where Leslie Sbrocco, award-winning author, speaker and television host, moderated a seminar attended by wine media and professionals.

“Zinfandel has survived where other varieties have not,” said “King of Zin” Joel Peterson, a founder of Ravenswood Winery. He was referring to the California frost that killed every variety except zinfandel in the late 19th century, and the US government’s policy of prohibition, from which zin emerged virtually unscathed due to its popularity with home winemakers and bootleggers.

Zinfandel’s prestige has spiked recently, driven by a generation of winemakers who specialise in low-production, single-vineyard wines.