So you think you know wine......

Let me start by telling you, I don’t know much about wine, barely just enough to be dangerous. What I’ve learned from 30 plus years in the restaurant industry, is, that very few, and I mean very few people really know much about wine. People tend to pick out a couple of wine terms that they think make them look knowledgeable, like “oakey“, “buttery“, or “tannins” and toss them about as if they knew what they were talking about, and oftentimes end up ordering something based on a taste that has nothing to do with those terms. Go figure.

Then there’s the White Zinfandel drinkers (and White Zinfandel is considered the “soda pop” of wines, at least around here) who order a glass of “Zinfandel,” and by leaving off the word “white” it somehow makes them more familiar with the wine. (Almost like being on a first name basis with someone.) This could not be further from the truth. They have no idea that there even is a red Zinfandel, which has been around for centuries. (I only know this because I Googled it) So when someone orders “Zinfandel”, I always ask them if they want White Zinfandel. When they look at you like you’re from Mars, then you KNOW they are clueless.

The whole White Zinfandel craze started accidentally at winery in California with some problem juice that suffered from “stuck fermentation” (google it) and the winemaker realized that due to it’s sweetness, it would appeal to the masses that normally don’t drink wine. So it would seem to me, that although this winery produces some very nice wines, the decision to mass produce White Zinfandel, was a business decision. And a good one.

So that ends my wine tutorial, because I really don’t know much more than that.