Zinfandel and White Zinfandel Wines
One Grape - Two Wildly Different Wines. Americans Love Both Zins
Sep 16, 2008
Ask any wine snob about White Zin and you most likely get a derisive snort and a quick dismissal. Real wine aficionados do not drink the slightly sweet pink concoction that marketers call blush wines. However, serious wine folk will fall all over themselves to describe the expensive, high-alcohol collectible red wines that come from California producers such as Turley or Martinelli. And yet, both come from the exact same grape. How did this European immigrant become not one, but two radically different American favorites?
Zinfandel Ranks 3rd in US Grapes Crushed
According the Kelly Schierman's American Chronicle article dated 9/5/08, Zinfandel ranks third behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay for the amount of grapes crushed in the United States each year. The vast majority of the grapes become White Zinfandel, not red. Schierman states the ratio of white to red in US sales of Zinfandel is 6 to 1.
Zinfandel Came From Croatia with Love
The Zinfandel grape is believed to have come from Croatia in the 1820's. It was not until 2002 that Dr. Carol Meredith of UC Davis used genetic identification methods to prove that both American Zinfandel and Italian Primitivo grapes were in fact, the Croatian grape known as Kastelanski. Like many American immigrants, it went through a few name changes and morphed into what we call Zinfandel today.
California - Zinfandel's New World Home
Most of the Zinfandel grown in the US today comes from California although some good results also come from the Columbia River Gorge area of Oregon. Red Zins tend to be high in alcohol, have intense fruity, spicy flavors and are made in both bone dry and sweeter Port-like styles.
White Zin - a 70s Invention
Although Zinfandel has existed in the US for a long time, it was not until the mid 1970's that winemaker Bob Trinchero of Sutter Home Winery created a rose of Zinfandel and stopped fermentation a bit early to ensure some residual sugar remained. Served slightly chilled, it became a beverage that appealed to the tastes of US consumers who at that time, had little or no interest in traditional dry wines.
White Zin Still A Big Seller
Today, White Zinfandel still represents roughly 5% of all wine sold in the US, although that is down slightly from the previous year, according to Sacramento Bee author Mike Dunne's 7/9/08 article entitled: Thirsty for the Top White Zin? Pull out $1.99.
Whether you prefer a box of the inexpensive pink party wine tossed into the cooler for that party at the lake or the spendy knockout red Zinfandel blends from producers like Paso Robles-based Linne Calodo, just enjoy them both and remember, America is a land of immigrants of every shape, size and color. We're lucky to have the two Zinfandel cousins.
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