White Zinfandel

White Zinfandel is a sweet to off-dry rosé from California, made from the red Zinfandel grape. Expect strawberry, raspberry and watermelon with peach and citrus, all wrapped up in a light, easy-drinking style. Fruity and refreshing, it’s brilliant with spicy Asian food, BBQ chicken, salads, fruit dishes and creamy cheeses.

Taste:

Sweet, fruity and proudly refusing to pretend otherwise.

White Zinfandel is typically light-bodied and off-dry to sweet, with flavours of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon. You may also find peach, melon and citrus alongside subtle floral notes.

The acidity keeps all that ripe fruit and sweetness feeling fresh, while tannins are very low thanks to the short amount of time the juice spends in contact with the grape skins.

It's usually served well chilled and is designed to be drunk young.

Is it the world's most serious rosé? No.

Does every bottle of wine need to come with homework? Also no.

Food Pairings:

White Zinfandel’s sweetness makes it particularly good with spicy, smoky and fruity dishes.

For Asian food, try Thai green curry, Thai red curry, spicy noodles, chicken stir-fry or dishes featuring chilli, ginger and aromatic spices. The sweetness helps soften the heat while the wine’s acidity keeps things refreshing.

It also works brilliantly with BBQ chicken, glazed chicken, pulled pork and pork ribs, particularly with sweet or smoky sauces.

For lighter dishes, try chicken salad, goat’s cheese salad or fresh fruit salad.

Fruit-based dishes featuring strawberries, raspberries, peaches or watermelon work particularly well with the wine’s own flavours.

For cheese, try Brie, Camembert, goat’s cheese or other mild, creamy styles.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy White Zinfandel, Moscato Rosé is a great next move for another fruity, sweet pink wine with plenty of aromatic character.

Rosé Prosecco adds bubbles while keeping plenty of fresh red-fruit flavour.

For something drier, Grenache Rosé is a great way to explore a more savoury, Mediterranean style.

And if you want to meet the grape in its completely different red-wine form, try Zinfandel.

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More About White Zinfandel:

Despite the name, White Zinfandel is actually a rosé, made from the dark-skinned Zinfandel grape.

The style became hugely popular in California after a happy accident in the 1970s. Sutter Home was producing a pale Zinfandel wine when a fermentation stalled, leaving more residual sugar than intended.

Instead of binning it, they sold the resulting sweeter wine – and people loved it.

White Zinfandel went on to become enormously popular and helped preserve many old Zinfandel vineyards during a period when demand for the red grape was considerably lower.

Created by accident. Became a phenomenon. Helped save the vineyards.

Not bad for a mistake.