Why Vine Age Matters

Why should anyone care how old a Zinfandel grapevine is? Are there differences worth caring about between a Zinfandel made from 10-year old vines and a Zinfandel made from 50 or 100-year old vines?

Old Vines Make Different Wines

At XYZin, we believe the answer is an emphatic “yes” to each of these questions.  But hold on: we’re not saying that old vines necessarily make better wines; just that they make different wines.  And those differences can result in remarkable and exciting wines for a variety of reasons.

A Taste of California History

Young Zinfandel vines routinely make good – or even great – wine, but Zinfandel made from old vines is a taste of California history in one compelling mouthful.

California is blessed to have counted Italian and Eastern European wine-lovers among its first homesteading immigrants, and their legacy lives on – quite literally – in the resilient, once nearly-forgotten Zinfandel vineyards which still pocket the state, from Southern California’s Cucamonga region to the northern reaches of what is now Sonoma County.

Zinfandel - California’s Heritage Grape

While some wines provide a connection to a particular vintage or vineyard, old vine Zinfandels connect us to over a century of California history.  Whatever it’s ancestral parentage, Zinfandel is considered California’s Heritage Grape.  Like the hardy immigrants who settled America’s frontier, Zinfandel arrived in the fertile valleys of California, took root and thrived.