Deadly zins
The sweet, blushing charms of white Zinfandel from California could effortlessly hook you. No trip to California would be complete without a taste of white Zin!
By Bidisha Bagchi, TNN |
Do you think it’s possible to fall for a grape? Well it’s not, as it happened to me when I discovered an intriguing customer called Zinfandel — a sensational Californian with a delicate colour and flavour redolent of summer berry fruit flavours.
But she’s no California blonde as the zinfandel variety apparently originated on the picturesque but lesser known Dalmatian coast of Croatia on the Mediterranean and surfaced on the west coast of the US only around the first half of the 19th century.
But white Zinfandel is authenticated as a Californian, if not born, then at least bred...like Arnold Swarzenegger, I guess! And a trip to the western-most US state would not be complete without a rendezvous with white Zin! Given my interest in the grape I did a bit of prodding and came up with some juicy history.
During the late 20th century, attempts were being made to make the biggest and boldest possible wine from the original red Zinfandel grape. Loads of zinfandel was crushed. It was time to drain off some of the white juice because the contact with the skin during the crushing procedure gave the wine its fascinating red colour. This left all of the skins with a concentrated amount of white grape juice for the big Zin.
The drained-off juice was left to ferment. Due to a glitch during fermentation, the white wine developed a pink hue, and retained some sugar. Faced with this accidental innovation, they decided to sell this wine through the tasting room, as "White Zinfandel". And whaddya know, it became an overnight hit, and soon millions of cases of White Zinfandel were being sold every year!
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White or “blush” Zinfandel allowed many people to enter the wine drinking world by being very fruity and that’s how I got sold on it. Most wines are fermented to dryness, which means until all of the sugar has been consumed by the yeast. But with “blushing” white Zin, the fermentation stops while some sugar is still left in the wine, giving a sweetness that is usually found in soft drinks. That may not make it very snooty but it certainly gives it a “come-hither” quality!As a long-time immigrant, white Zinfandel is made in picturesque Central California, between two valleys — the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley. The original red version was also made in San Joaquin, in a place called Lodi (not the dynasty: it’s pronounced low-die!) which incidentally has a Grape Festival every September with lots of wine tastings as it also produces most of the other grape varietals that California is famous for.
What better way to get acquainted with Zinfandel — 'red and white' — than a visit to its homeland, so to speak? There’s also a Spring Wine Show in March or April. Who should you look for to be introduced to this sweet, blushing Californian? Well, Sutter Home is one, while Beringer Vineyards is another, particularly their new sparkling White Zinfandel.
Further afield, Barefoot Cellars, from the adjoining Sonoma County is another option, with their intriguingly named Barefoot on the Beach white Zin. Incindentally, while white Zin is wonderful by itself, it’s fantastic when paired with meats, smoked, roasted or barbequed. Maybe that’s what got the Indian in me hooked! Believe me, no trip to California would be complete without a taste of white Zin!
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