As any local winemaker will tell you, they go to
great lengths to produce the
right Zinfandel. "I've been fooling around with
zinfandel my whole career. I was a cabernet sauvignon guy, too, but all of us cab guys want to try our hand at
zinfandel," says Randle Johnson, a consulting winemaker with the Hess
Collection. Zinfandel, it turns out, presents challenges even for veteran
winemakers.
It's seen as the All-American grape, brought to California around
1849 by Gold Rush miners who turned to agriculture. But critics say it has never earned full respect and it
will never make a truly elegant wine or be a "noble" grape like the
cabernet sauvignon. Johnson. Johnson and his employer are looking to
change that. The Hess
Collection will now be working with about 15 independent growers in Amador and
Mendocino Counties to produce 15,000 cases a year of Zinfandel. The
partnership is seen as beneficial for both parties, who want to see Zinfandel gain
in respect and, of course, sales, in the wine market.