white zinfandel

White Zinfandel, often abbreviated as White Zin, is an off-dry to sweet, pink-colored rosé wine. White Zinfandel is made from the Zinfandel wine grape, which would otherwise produce a bold and spicy red wine. As such, it is not a grape variety but a method of processing Zinfandel grapes. As of February 2006, White Zinfandel accounted for 10% of all wine sold by volume, making it the third most popular varietal in the United States.^[1]

Historically an inexpensive jug wine, White Zinfandel is a quaffing wine that is sweet, soft, and low in alcohol, making it a popular choice with those who would not otherwise drink wine. The sugar content can make White Zinfandel taste almost like a fruit punch, although some examples have crisp acids and are balanced in their own way. White Zinfandel is typically manufactured for immediate consumption rather than for aging. These attributes frequently make White Zinfandel a target of ridicule among connoisseurs, despite its popularity.

History of White Zinfandel

Zinfandel was first produced as a rosé wine in 1869 by the El Pinal Winery in Lodi, California. The resulting wine was thought of highly enough that California viticultural commissioner Charles Wetmore, the later founder of Cresta Blanca Winery, advocated Zinfandel's use as a white wine grape. For years Zinfandel had mysterious origins. Initially, research confirmed a relationship between Zinfandel and Primitivo (a variety grown in Italy's Puglia region), causing speculation that Zinfandel might have originated in Italy. However, in late 2001, DNA fingerprinting determined that Crljenak Kaštelanski (a little-known Croatian varietal) and Zinfandel have identical DNA profiles. Further analysis proved that the popular Croatian grape Plavac Mali descended from Crljenak Kaštelanski (and therefore of Zinfandel).^[2]

In the 1970s Sutter Home Winery was a producer of premium Zinfandel in the Napa Valley (wine). One technique they utilized to increase concentration in their wines was to bleed off some of the grape juice prior to fermentation to increase the impact of compounds in the skins on the remaining wine. The excess juice was separately fermented into a dry, almost white wine that Sutter Home called "White Zinfandel."

In 1975, Sutter Home's White Zinfandel experienced a "stuck fermentation", a problem that occurs when the yeast dies out before consuming all of the sugar.^[3] This problem juice was set aside. Some weeks later the winemaker tasted it, and preferred this accidental result, which was a sweet pink wine. This is the style that became popular and today is known as White Zinfandel. Sutter Home realized they could sell far more White Zinfandel than anything they had produced to date, and gradually became a successful producer of inexpensive wines. The demand for White Zinfandel resulted in extended commercial viability of old vine Zinfandel vineyards, which saved them from being ripped out.^[4] When the fine wine boom started in the 1980s, demand for red Zinfandel picked up considerably and these vineyards became prized for the low yields from century-old vines.

Rather than use the leftover juice from premium Zinfandel production, Sutter Home (and most producers today) grow grapes specifically for use in White Zinfandel in places like the Central Valley of California. Production costs are substantially lower and fruit quality is not as important to the final taste as it would be in a dry table wine.

In the 1990s the Trinchero family, owners of Sutter Home, began production of a new brand of fine wines, M. Trinchero.

Notable Producers

• Sutter Home was the first commercial producer of White Zinfandel and remains one of the most popular producers currently. Shipping over four million cases of the variety, its White Zinfandel is a sweet, pink wine.

• Beringer Vineyards produces one of the most popular White Zinfandels on the market. The vineyard recently released a new "Sparkling White Zinfandel" to commemorate its 20th anniversary as a White Zinfandel producer.

• Barefoot Cellars, a Sonoma County winery, began producing an affordable non-vintage White Zinfandel in 1993. Their Barefoot on the Beach White Zinfandel, first released in 1999, has a more fruity flavor.

• DeLoach is noted for a White Zinfandel that has uncharacteristic dryness and complexity.

See also

• California wine

References

1. ^ Wine Business Insider, March 272006
2. ^ Wine Business Monthly, April 1, 2004
3. ^ Zinposium 2002: A Major Event. Vineyard & Winery Management Sep/Oct 2002
4. ^ San Francisco Gate (2005-07-28).

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