Speculation made the case for Zin's oddessy to have begun in Italy with the grape known as Primitivo. But as oddessys go, the story has more twists than turns and when Mike Grigch of Grigch Cellars visited his native Croatia, he discovered some likely parents of America's baby Zin. UCDavis couldn't wait to use their new tools to check the DNA of Zinfandel and these other foreign grapes claiming to be baby Zin's Mom and Dad. Scientists then concurred although momentarily that the Croatian grape Plavic Mali was the Grand Daddy of Zin. Then two local scientists showed that Plavic Mali is the off-spring of Zinfandel and Dobricic, yet another Croatian grape. With joined efforts these researchers have now found an indigenous Croatian grape identical to Zinfandel and Primitivo called Crljenak (say that again please).
Since its introduction in 1862, accredited to Agoston Haraszthy the father of the California wine industry, Zinfandel has been widely planted throughout California. Wine historian Charles Sullivan believes information that points to a George Gibbs who imported the grape from the Austro-Hungarian imperial nursery in Vienna and brought it to Boston in 1829. There's more but that's it for now and here. The Sierra Foothills, especially Amador's Shenandoah Valley, Fiddletown and El Dorado's Fair Play are and have been since the Gold Rush areas prized for growing this great American grape - Zinfandel.
The names Fitzpatrick and Zinfandel are like two peas in a pod. Since 1980 Fitzpatrick wines have created outstanding Zins. We started in 1980 emphasizing Zinfandels from three select vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley: Clockspring Vineyard, Rock Hill Vineyard and the Jehling Vineyard. Let us not forget too the tiny old-vine George Demille vineyard. Awards came immediately for our Zins, referred too as 'Gentle Monsters'. But it was the 1981 Jehling Vnyd. Zin that won our first Gold and at Orange County where more than 80 Zins were entered and only 7 Golds were awarded. And ironically for the times this was not a monster but an elegant medium bodied Zin with perfect balance of components. That 1981 Zin taught us a good lesson that brute strength does not determine a wine's ability to age but it's the balance of fruit, flavors, tannins and acid that allows wines to age with such grace. Our Zins over the years went on to win an impressive cache of awards including the 1985 Grand Award at the Amador Country Fair, Best of Shows, Golds (including a recent CA State Fair Gold with 94 points, just one point short of the Best of California Zin), Silvers and Bronzes. Accolades from the Press added to the awareness of our success with Zin. And then again in 2004 our 2001 Estate Zin took The Best of Show & Grand Award At Amador County Fair and Sac Bee wine writer Mike Dunn called to congratulate us and said ‘ Your Zin just kept getting better and better as the day went on’. But it was the consumers and the old fashion 'word of mouth' that built us an image of  'a place for Zins'.
Today, the pendulum of style has swung gently back and forth in search of perfecting balance. It's all about balance. And we’ve been blessed through our success with the welcome addition of new oak. Trials with different barrels from different coopers and more importantly oak wood source from different regions and forests have shown us the beauty and marriage of Minnesotan oak and Zinfandel. Our ability to capture the depth and lushness of Zinfandel's fruit is never over-powered by our use of oak. Try one of our current releases and see for yourselves what Fitzpatrick, a maker of Zins for 30 years, can bottle up.
Don’t forget if you remember a Fitzpatrick Zinfandel from the past that you loved we may just have another bottle in our Library with your name on it –ask.