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Making a match for Zinfandel
By Betty Shimabukuro
Star-BulletinWHAT a great word -- Zinfandel. Brings out the punny side of us. These wines are zensual, zintastic, zinzational, zuperb.
It's zinful.
But also fun, very tasty and extremely trendy, putting this weekend's Hawaii Public Radio Wine Classic on the cutting edge wine-wise.
If you don't speak wine geek, here's the quick take on Zinfandel: It's a red wine, but truly should be red, white and blue, made almost exclusively in California. It comes from the Zinfandel grape, (nicknamed "America's grape") descended from vines planted more than a century ago by Italian immigrants. In the last few years it has grown wildly in popularity, becoming to the early part of the new millennium what Merlot was to the '90s -- for reasons to be explained later.
Auction, tastings and seminars, with a focus on Zinfandels: HPR WINE CLASSIC
When: Noon-5 p.m. Sunday
A Zinderella story.
Sorry. Can't help it.
So anyway, why should you care?
No. 1, if you love wine, this is a great one to explore. Food friendly (that's geek for goes-well-with-food), it has many personalities, from Big Red to silky and subtle.
No. 2, if you love public radio, Sunday's event, with its wine auction, tastings and seminars, is a way to give while getting quite a lot.
No. 3, if you love food, consider that chefs love this wine, both to cook with and pair with their dishes. It's especially considered a good match for Italian/Mediterranean foods.
No. 4, if you're cheap, part of the reason Zinfandels are gaining on other wines is that they're affordable -- while good Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots have gotten increasingly expensive.
The rest is details, and here they come ...
The winemakers
A pioneer among modern Zin-makers is Ravenswood, which back in the mid-'70s saw Zinfandel as a "very unappreciated grape -- and therefore cheap to buy," says Reed Foster, co-founder of the label.Zinfandel was considered an Italian field vine, and wines made from it were "rough, no-oak, pretty rugged." It was also thought the wines wouldn't age well.
"We knew when we started Ravenswood that when properly made, with a lot of tannins and balance and lots of fruit and acid to hold it, that it could be well-structured and would age as well as any noble grape," Foster says.
Ravenswood is known for its bold, robust style, and while its wines cover the price spectrum, Foster says the label's past growth and its future lie in the more affordable Zins, in the $10 range. "Our Vintners Blend is a starter Zinfandel, no training
wheels," Foster says. "That wine introduces people to the fresh, fruity, peppery, spicy things that people love about Zinfandel when it's made well, whether it's inexpensive or very expensive."
On the mellower side of the Zinfandel spectrum is Makor, where winemaker Jim Adelman seeks a lower-alcohol, balanced wine of lighter character. "I want a wine that when you put it in your mouth you don't feel peaks and valleys of textures and flavors."
The beauty of Zinfandel, Adelman says, is you can find them in many styles. They don't have to be rich, ripe and heavy, which would make them difficult to pair with food.
"A lot of these big, rich reds are so big so you need game to go with them. How many times a year can you eat venison? Or buffalo, for that matter."
Foster and Adelman will share their wisdom at the Wine Classic, along with winemakers from Edmeades Vineyards, Peachy Canyon Winery and Storybook Mountain Winery.
The event
The Wine Classic is HPR's biggest annual fund-raiser, with a goal of earning $60,000 for the station, which can sure use the cash. This year's event boasts of the largest selection of Zins ever presented in Hawaii -- more than 100 types. Other wines (160 of them) will also be well-represented in the Grand Tasting.On top of the drink is the food -- prepared by the formidable Raphael Lunetta of JiRaffe in Santa Monica, Calif., a one-time professional surfer who has been named among the Top 10 young chefs in the nation by Food & Wine magazine. It's an honor he shares with partner Josiah Citrin.
Cooking alongside Lunetta will be Jean-Luc Voegele of Bali-by-the Sea in the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
The grape
Zinfandel was once thought to be a native American plant, but it has since been genetically linked to the Primitivo grape of Southern Italy. The first vines were planted in California more than 100 years ago, which adds to the wine's mystique.A Zin could hail from "old vines" or younger clones, making for differences in character partly responsible for all that variety among Zins today. Older vines yield fewer grapes, but of higher quality and more concentrated flavor. (This is the general wisdom, but there are those who beg to differ. Makor's Edelman says age makes no difference. "I think it's a totally romantic notion that older vines produce better grapes.")
In the late 1960s, Zinfandel's popularity spiked, says master sommelier Chuck Furuya, who is helping Richard Field of R. Field Wine Co. organize the Zin event. "There was a huge following for huge, ultra-ripe, surly, gnarly wines. There was absolutely no finesse to them."
That died out. Then came the white Zin craze. This wine was made with Zinfandel juice, but not the skin. It was pink and sweet.
"It filled the void for people who were trying to move up from Riunite and Thunderbird and all that," Furuya says.
Today, Zinfandel has matured, and it's giving people a choice outside of what Furuya calls the red-wine "comfort zone" of Cabernet and Merlot.
"What intrigues me is the fact that some winemakers are able to take this hearty, robust grape variety and made it into something perfumed, well-textured, silky and even-finished."
The chef
Raphael Lunetta describes a dish created of and for Zinfandel: Foie gras in a pistachio crust, served with a pear that has been poached in Zin, flavored with star anise, fennel and cloves. "It really all works together," he says. "That's a really sophisticated, elegant way to use a Zinfandel."With its spicy character, the wine complements seasonings such as peppercorns and cloves -- and with its depth it holds up against hearty, even gamey meats, Lunetta says.
Still, he can see it working with seafood, especially salmon, swordfish, ahi, even lobster -- all in a Zinfandel sauce.
To work a pairing at home, Lunetta suggests something simple. "Let's say a lamb or beef stew ... basically any kind of traditional stew, rich and hearty, using root vegetables. And if you wanted to throw in any kind of Middle Eastern spices, you could do that. ... The longer you cook it, the better it will be."
As for the wine, "I would put it in the beginning, absolutely," he adds. "I'd get two bottles: One for the stew and one for drinking."
Making a match for
Star-Bulletin
ZinfandelChef Jean-Luc Vogele's longtime hobby has been creating dishes to match with wines.
"It's so nice to have nice food and a good wine," says the chef at Bali-by-the-Sea in the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
He puts these well-practiced skills on display at Sunday's Wine Classic, offering two dishes to pair with Zinfandels.
The wine goes well with earthy, simple foods, Vogele says, and he's chosen a roasted beet and duck salad, as well as a lamb dish.
"It's good for setting off the wine flavor."
PAPRIKA LAMB
14-15 ounces lamb loin
2 cloves garlic, halved
3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons butter (divided)
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup lamb demi-glaze (see note)Rub loin with garlic and 2 tablespoons oil; add rosemary and thyme and marinate overnight.
Slice lamb into strips. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Saute in remaining olive oil. Add 1 teaspoon butter and continue cooking until medium-rare. Remove from heat and drain oil.
Saute shallots in 1 teaspoon butter until brown, then deglaze pan with wine. Add demi-glaze and simmer 2-3 minutes. Strain sauce.
Return lamb to pan and toss with sauce; add last teaspoon of butter.
Serve with polenta cakes and kalamata olives. Garnish with chopped parsley and sauteed cherry tomatoes. Serves 2.
Note: Make your own demi-glaze or buy prepared version.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 850 calories, 56 g total fat, 15 g saturated fat, 170 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium.*
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