Wine of the Week: Quivira, 2016 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Zinfandel has reached a tipping point. While there are still hedonistic sippers on the market, today zins are created to court food.

“While the higher alcohol, ‘hedonistic’ style will always have its fans, there’s definitely an increasing demand for more food-friendly wines that are not shy or light-bodied in any way,” said Hugh Chappelle, the winemaker of Quivira Vineyards and LaFollette Wines. “They’re just not dominated by ultra-ripe flavors and so high in alcohol you can’t enjoy more than one glass.”

Chappelle is behind our wine of the week winner - the Quivira, 2016 Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County Zinfandel at $25. What makes this zin a standout is the sum of its parts - its jammy fruit, its crisp acid and its snappy spice. Aromas of high-toned red fruit give way to black fruit on the palate. It has flavors of blackberry, with a hint of raspberry, toast and edgy black pepper spice. This food-friendly zin is a knockout.

“For our Dry Creek zinfandel bottling, we are definitely shooting for a classic ‘claret’ style zinfandel, but with a modern sensibility in terms of its clean, pure, fruit and easy drinkability,” Chappelle said.

Achieving this style is no easy feat because zinfandel comes with a set of challenges, he said.

“Zinfandel is thinned skinned and prone to rot,” Chappelle said. “It ripens unevenly. It often does not taste ripe until alcohol potential is high, and it’s prone to stuck fermentations. Besides all that, it’s a cake walk.”

Chappelle, 57, joined Quivira as a winegrower in 2010. His credits include a stint at Lynmar Estate and before that, Flowers Vineyards & Winery.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chappelle grew up with more of an appreciation of wine and food than many of his fellow winemakers.

His mother was from the Mosel region in Germany and made wine part of daily life.

The winemaker began learning the art of zinfandel when he began producing the varietal in the Sierra Foothills in El Dorado County.

“I was making zinfandels from vineyards just below 3,000 feet where the variety truly struggled to ripen at the end of the growing season,” Chappelle said. “This formative experience, early in my career, has had a big impact in how I think about and approach crafting zinfandel. Coming back to zinfandel again, now later in my career, has allowed me to bring a lot of experience to bear on the many challenges this variety throws at the winemaker.”

Celebrated as the American grape, zinfandel has been widely embraced by fans.

“I think zinfandel has truly found a home in California, despite having its roots traced back to Croatia, with a stop in Puglia on its way to the New World,” Chappelle said.

“While I think you can make a strong argument there’s no better area for zinfandel than Dry Creek Valley, it’s also fair to say that there are great zinfandels made in many places. It’s a testament to the variety’s adaptabilit, and I think helps explain why it has not only survived, but thrived as long as it has.”

You can reach Wine Writer Peg Melnik at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.