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The Original White Sin
This article was inspired by Laine, who was having visible difficulty downing a glass of red at Barmouche the other night. As I was approached, I noticed something awkward in her behavior, the sort of look that meant my cologne was a bit too strong. After some tiny chatter, she confided proudly that she had started to drink red wine. I thought this comment odd and I pressed her for more info. She admitted with embarrassment that she’d always quaffed White Zinfandel and was forcing herself to sip the fashionable red. I was surprised that an intelligent, successful, and otherwise confident businesswoman would feel pressured to let something she didn’t like pass her lips.
Laine’s dilemma sent me on a mission to discover the mystery and allure of White Zinfandel. The first thing I learned is that the wine snobs have made it incurably uncool. The second? That it’s the best selling “fine” wine in America. Beringer alone sells over three million cases a year. I thought I’d turn to the reference books but the bibles of our business, Hugh Johnson’s Modern Encyclopedia of Wine 4th Edition, Windows on the World Wine Course by Kevin Zraley and even The Taste of Wine by Emile Peynaud had nothin’. Not even a mention. I searched the library for other references to White Zin and found nada, not, none. I was brimming with curiosity as to how the best selling wine in America didn’t rate a single mention in a book, let alone a book of it’s own! Furthermore, no one’s supposed to drink it, or even talk about it.
By this time my interest was so great that I hopped a Southwest flight to Sacramento and made a pilgrimage to the White Zin mecca known as “Sutter Home Winery”. Founded in 1874 and then refounded in 1946 by Bob Trinchero, it’s a beautiful winery nestled in the heart of Napa Valley. Pre White Zin, this winery was best known for its Amador Zinfandel Reserve (a red wine). I’ve driven by this place a hundred times and admittedly, I chuckled to myself along the lines of “Ha, I’ll never go there, that’s where White Zinfandel was born...eeeww, yucky poo poo.” But this day I drove in and walked up to the bar. And wow, it was kinda nice! One of the bartenders came up to me and asked if I would like to try their complimentary tasting. Such a thing is unheard of in Napa these days. She was so nice I said “Yeah, since you don’t have any tequila, I’ll have a drink or two”. While we were makin’ small talk I asked a couple of questions. Suddenly, transported into the light, I was awakened and alive with new knowledge about the original white sin.
What’s the story behind white zinfandel?
It started in the seventies, when Bad was to the bone and Phat was spelled with an F, Chad was a small country in Africa, and The President did not have sex with ANYONE. According to my bartenderess at Sutter Home, it all began with an accident of winemaking. Sutter Home used to increase the concentration of their red wines by drawing off juice from the newly fermenting red Zinfandel. Every year this resulted in some leftover light blush wine and in the seventies they decided to sell it. First it was a dry Rosé but the following year the winemakers stopped the fermentation before all the sugar was gone. The result was the sweet White Zinfandel that became the most popular style.
The rest is history as now almost every large winery in California makes White Zin and it’s a huge business. This may all sound pretty funny, but I will remind you of a story about another wine introduced to England in the 1800’s. It was called Champagne, it was cloudy, pink, sweet, and lightly sparkling, and it was summarily dismissed by the English as a passing fad of poor quality wine. Sound familiar?
Well, to help the millions of silent masses currently drinking this stuff I’m offering a guide to buying White Zinfandel. By the way this is how much I care about you!
For a dryer style White Zin, look for:
Buehler – This is a serious dry rosé wine, and one of the only wines of this style to fully capture the wild berry and strawberry character of the Zinfandel grape.
DeLoach – One of the wine enthusiasts’ favorites since 1979, this wine has a medium dry character and tends to very exotic guava, cherry and tropical fruit aromas.
Sweeter White Zins include
Beringer – This has some Zin spiciness in the nose with a delicate sweetness in the finish. They also make a Limited Vintage Select White Zinfandel, which is dryer.
Sutter Home – This is the classic, and having come first it set the benchmark for the style. It is probably the sweetest...but sweet is nice sometimes.
Now for those of you who still can’t stand the thought of White Zin, or any Rosé, I give you my top two reds for the month.
1998 T-Vine Syrah from Contra Costa – Wow, wow, wow. Just get it. The Syrah grape is red hot now, and this one is richly layered with all kinds of fruit and enough power to fly you to Tucson.
1998 Francis Coppola Merlot – The latest greatest effort from the winery Francis bought after the success of The Godfather. This Merlot is unctuous, with a fine structure, further proof this winery will be a major force in Napa in the next ten years.
Now, the next time someone you’re with orders White Zinfandel, you can regale them with your new knowledge about the wine. If it’s your spouse they’ll think you’re lovable and understanding. If it’s a date you might get another. Cheers!
© Mark Tarbell 2001