Zinfandel
Top regions producing this wine: |
Often referred to as “America’s Heritage Grape,” Zinfandel is the quintessential California grape. It is just this unpretentious, homegrown mystique that attracts anti-wine snobs to the many varied styles of Zinfandel. Historically, the grape is tied to the Gold Rush era. Alcohol was in high demand with thirsty miners, and Zinfandel, whose vines are capable of producing high yields, was readily available for consumption. Practical considerations also helped to propagate the vine. The materials used to build the gold mines made timber and wire scarce. The Zinfandel vine could be planted without wire or post, in a freestanding bush shape known as “head pruned.” The quintessential California grape is anything but American in origin, though. In the 1990s, UC Davis Professor Carole Meredith confirmed that Zinfandel and Italy’s Primitivo have the same DNA structure, leading to speculation that Italian immigrants may have brought the vine to California. However in 2002, Meredith and her colleagues published the discovery that Zinfandel and the Croatian grape Crjenak Kaštelanski have identical DNA, and that Croatia may be the place of origin for this grape. Zinfandel’s telltale bold flavors vary from raspberry liqueur to exotic Asian spice, chocolate and pepper notes. It’s generally high in alcohol, with rich, syrupy fruit and a lush texture, making it a favorite of another American tradition — barbecue. Whatever its origin, Zinfandel is purely an American wine phenomenon. |
Rosé/Blush Wine
Top rosé wine varietals: |
Rosés are often underrated amongst their red and white counterparts, and have been gaining in popularity in recent years. These wines can be a wonderfully refreshing change of pace to your everyday red or white. A rosé may be produced in one of three ways, though only the first two ways are typically used. The first method is used when the winemaker's primary focus is to make a rosé. In this case, the skins of the crushed grapes -- which are responsible for producing the color in wines -- are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for a short period of time, though not throughout fermentation as is the case with red wines. This method imparts some of the red coloring of the skin, but by removing the skins before fermentation it removes the tannins and other compounds typical of a red wine, leaving behind a blush wine with characteristics more typical of a white wine. The second method for producing roses is the through the fermentation of excess juice (or must) from a red wine. Winemakers may wish to make their red wines more tannic and intense in both color and flavor. When that's the case, they sometimes will remove some of the pink juice from the wine at an early stage in fermentation. That juice is then sometimes fermented on its own to create a rosé. And the final method for creating a rosé, which is rather uncommon and discouraged, is a simple blend of red and white wines. This method is actually forbidden by law in France, with the exception of Champagne. |
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Ariel White Zinfandel
750 ml.
Item #46797Limited inventory.
5 bottles or less in stock; we will confirm your order by email. -




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