Chris BerryFounder, Wine Underdogs — chasing the world’s overlooked grapesZinfandel is America's great crowd-pleaser: bold, brambly, sun-soaked, full of jammy blackberry and a warm, spicy generosity that makes it the cookout red of choice. What people love is the abundance — ripe dark fruit, big body, an easy swagger. The trouble is that the good ones climb in price and the cheap ones flatten into sugary sameness.
If what you love is that generous, full-bodied punch, three underdog grapes deliver it — each with a little more depth than the bottle you reached for last time.
Alicante Bouschet — the inky one
Start here. A teinturier grape with red flesh as well as red skin, Alicante Bouschet makes some of the darkest, most saturated wines in existence — ripe black fruit, full body, a savory backbone that keeps the richness from going flabby. It's Zinfandel's generosity with more structure underneath. Read the Alicante Bouschet deep dive →
Pinotage — the smoky one
South Africa's signature red is built for the Zinfandel lover who likes a little wildness: bold, dark, and brambly, with a smoky, almost barbecue char to the fruit. The benchmark bottles are deep and savory — the same big, sunny personality, from the other side of the world. Read the Pinotage deep dive →
Touriga Nacional — the structured one
If you want Zinfandel's dark fruit with more backbone and perfume, Portugal's flagship grape delivers blackberry and violet over a firmer, more serious frame. It's the pick for the Zin drinker ready to graduate to something with a little more grip. Read the Touriga Nacional deep dive →
How to choose
Want the inkiest, most saturated version? Alicante Bouschet. Want smoke and wild swagger? Pinotage. Want dark fruit with more structure? Touriga Nacional. Each gives you Zinfandel's big, generous heart — bold fruit, full body — while pouring something nobody else at the table will recognize.
Just getting into the overlooked grapes? Start with the Underdog Starter List — ten bottles under $25 worth chasing. Or see the whole approach in Order This Instead.