Zinfandel is the adopted grape of the California wine industry. Recent genetic testing has shown it’s parentage to come from Croatia, but California is where Zinfandel found its home. Zinfandel produces large tight clustered bunches that can ripen rather unevenly. It ripens mid to late-season. This red grape is used to produce a range of styles from the cloying sweet blush wine White Zinfandel, to big, jammy, spicy, high alcohol reds, and even to Port style wines by some producers. Several old vineyard plantings exist throughout California and Old Vine Zinfandel has become a popular version of this wine. Zinfandel is quite flexible and produces a range of characteristics in its different forms, but a classic descriptor for this grape is strawberry jam.