Peter May
Pinotage Advocate
3798
Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:24 am
Snorbens, England
Peter May wrote:I visited Sutter Home winery several times in my visits to California in the 70s and 80s.
I liked their red Zins
I did buy a bottle of the white Zin, as I have saved the label, its 1981 white Zinfandel. I remember it as dry and white in colour
In the book 'Living the Dream - The Trinchero Family of Sutter Home', published for their 50th anniversary it says they produced 25,000 cases of the 1981 vintage; by 1987 it was the best selling wine in the US with 2,000,000 cases and by 1990 they were producing 3,000,000 cases.
It says it was, after 1975 at first off dry and white, the 1975 'stuck fermentation' wine had just 2% residual sugar.
It doesn't say when they increased RS and let it go pink
Hoke
Achieving Wine Immortality
11420
Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:07 am
Portland, OR
Jenise
FLDG Dishwasher
42549
Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm
The Pacific Northest Westest
Jenise wrote:Fun stuff, Tom. In 1980 I lived in Saudi Arabia. We bought white and red German grape juice from which to make illegal hooch with yeast smuggled in from home. Thanks to a chance encounter with Sutter Home White Zinfandel before leaving the U.S. it occurred to us to spike a batch (one 5 gal jerry can) of white with fresh strawberries, banana peel, a piece of orange rind and maybe a clove or two to create our own mock white zinfandel. It was as big a hit there as Sutter Home's was here. We ran out in like a week, which was pretty deadly in a place where it took a whole 30 days to make each batch!
Jenise
FLDG Dishwasher
42549
Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm
The Pacific Northest Westest
TomHill wrote:Jenise wrote:Fun stuff, Tom. In 1980 I lived in Saudi Arabia. We bought white and red German grape juice from which to make illegal hooch with yeast smuggled in from home. Thanks to a chance encounter with Sutter Home White Zinfandel before leaving the U.S. it occurred to us to spike a batch (one 5 gal jerry can) of white with fresh strawberries, banana peel, a piece of orange rind and maybe a clove or two to create our own mock white zinfandel. It was as big a hit there as Sutter Home's was here. We ran out in like a week, which was pretty deadly in a place where it took a whole 30 days to make each batch!
Uhhhh, Jenise....I somehow doubt that the natural wine movement would go along with this!!
In places like SaudiArabia, necessity is the mother of invention.
Tom
Ken Schechet
Ultra geek
143
Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:54 pm
West Palm Beach, Florida
Ryan M wrote:
You know, I think the real travesty of White Zin is not the wine itself, but what it has done to the perception of dry rose. I've had to explain so many times that the rose I brought is not sweet.
Ken Schechet wrote:Ryan M wrote:
You know, I think the real travesty of White Zin is not the wine itself, but what it has done to the perception of dry rose. I've had to explain so many times that the rose I brought is not sweet.
Ryan, when I moved to Florida it amazed me that you never saw anyone drinking rose, which I think is the most natural beverage for Florida that you could imagine. I slowly realized that no one in the Palm Beach crowd wanted anyone to think they were drinking white zin, so they never ordered rose. Thankfully, that has changed.
My memory is that zinfandel was in pretty bad shape as a varietal when the white zin craze hit. I wonder if that saved the grape and let us have some of the wonderful red zins that are available today.
Peter May
Pinotage Advocate
3798
Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:24 am
Snorbens, England
TomHill wrote: Nonetheless...that claim continues to be made w/ no supporting evidence that I have heard of.
Peter May wrote:TomHill wrote: Nonetheless...that claim continues to be made w/ no supporting evidence that I have heard of.
I'm one of those whio make that claim, based on my own memories of that time.
Those 3,000,000 bottles of Sutter Home White Zin had to come from somewhere, and they weren't, by then, the only makers of white Zin.
Red Zin did not generally have a good reputation: it was a 'local' grape, there was no old world standard bearer, none to match or challenge to a 'Judgement of Paris'. Fruit price had collapsed and Cabernet and Chardonnay were in the ascendency...
As for evidence.. I've just been flicking through Angels Visits by David Darlington (1991); Paul Draper (Ridge) talks about using Heart's Desire ,100+ year old Zin (w some Petite Sirah and Carignan) for over 22 years. Author's note at foot says 'most of these vines have since been ripped out' (page 22)
Page 187 - 188 Darlington writes 'the price of the grape fell back to $150 per ton and growers all over California raced to pull up the oldest vines in the state, replacing them with Cabernet and Chardonnay. Between 1978 and 1983 5,000 acres of Zinfandel disappeared ...
"California's unique treasure" was on the verge of oblivion.Then, like an anaemic foundling rushing in to save a wounded knight from the jaws of disaster, salvation appeared on a pale pink horse coming over the horizon.......
There was only one problem with this saga amongst the varietals most dedicated followers. They considered the rescuer - white Zinfandel - the villain rather than the hero.'
Book says that by 1987 Sutter Home alone were processing one-third of all Cal Zinfandel, and another 120 wineries were making over 5 millions cases of white Zin.
Hoke
Achieving Wine Immortality
11420
Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:07 am
Portland, OR
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