Zinfandel - The Misunderstood Wine

I admit it, I was ignorant about Zinfandel until recently. Many moons ago, I was a cocktail waitress. We had limited wines available and one was a WHITE Zin (yuck) not a RED (yum).  The other servers told me the White Zin was the "White Trash Wine." I was young and figured it was because it went so well with pizza (because no sophisticated person would have wine with pizza - I was so naïve). 

Flash forward two decades, and I found a delicious red blend, Tangle Rose Backyard Red, that had some (Red) Zinfandel in it.  Come to Mama!  I loved it!!!!! I soon learned that (Red) Zinfandel is actually a very sophisticated wine, and White Zin was more of a bastard cousin.  This is likely why a red variety is merely called a Zinfandel whereas the lesser white (some call it a rose) must be qualified as a White Zinfandel.

The creation of the White Zin only occurred recently in the 1970s, and most believe it was actually a mistake.  A California wine maker was saving some of the juices that had been separated from the red wine when the skins were removed prematurely.  It gave the wine more of a rose color than the deep red of the Zinfandel. That first version of the wine was not particularly popular.  A few years later the wine maker had an issue with the fermentation giving the wine a sweeter flavor, and the current version of the White Zin was born.  While is it commonly known as a starter wine for new wine drinkers, most wine snobs would rather have their knees drained than be caught in the same room as a White Zin. 

I recently tried a Zinfandel from Lodi, Small Hours, and I am here to tell you that I have a new respect for Zinfandel.  It goes to show, never judge a wine by its hearsay (because it is probably wrong, anyway).