zinfandel etymology

Etymology

The name "Zinfandel" is derived from two German words:

• Zier: Ornamental, elegant, or beautiful
• Fandler: A dialectal variation of "Fähnlein," meaning "small flag"

Meaning

The name Zinfandel thus translates to "ornamental small flag."

Origin

The origins of Zinfandel are somewhat shrouded in mystery. However, it is widely believed to have originated in the Austrian Empire (present-day Croatia) in the early 1800s:

• In 1817, an Austrian nursery owner named Franz Scheuchzer sent cuttings of a grape variety called Crljenak Kaštelanski to Prince Metternich in Vienna.
• Metternich later passed the cuttings to the Royal Horticultural Society in London, which distributed them to nurseries in England and the United States.
• In the United States, the grape initially became known as Black St. Peter or Black St. Peters.
• In the 1850s, a nursery owner in California named Agoston Haraszthy began using the name "Zinfandel" for his black grape variety.
• Over time, Zinfandel became the primary name for the grape, and Black St. Peter fell out of use.

DNA Analysis

Recent DNA analysis has shown that Zinfandel is actually identical to the Croatian grape variety Primitivo. This suggests that Zinfandel was brought to the New World by Croatian immigrants in the 19th century.

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