How Is Pink Zinfandel So Much Lighter, Fruity And Sweet, Whereas A ...

Dear Dr. Vinny,

You've said before that the difference between Zinfandel and "white Zinfandel" isn't that red and white are blended, but that the grapes simply get limited exposure to the skins: “Red grapes made with white wine practices.” How then, is pink Zinfandel so much lighter, fruity and sweet, whereas a true Zinfandel is quite a bold and spicy red, really not in the same flavor category at all? Is this only grapeskin contact, or are there differing fermenting methods?

—Aaron L., Farwell, Mich.

Dear Aaron,

Good point—I probably could have expanded more on my recent answer to the difference between red and pink Zinfandels. You’re correct that many of the white Zins out there are made in sweeter styles. But I have to disagree slightly with your characterization that red Zins aren’t fruity. I find many Zinfandels to be oozing with ripe, jammy flavors. It’s definitely part of their appeal, along with the bold, spicy notes you mention.

Making any sort of wine starts with the fermentation process. Grapes (in the case of red wine production) or grape juice (in the case of white wine production) are/is fermented, a process that converts the sugar in the grapes into alcohol with the help of yeast. In broad terms, when the yeasts run out of sugar to gobble, the fermentation is complete and the wine is considered dry—the opposite of sweet. Some people are shaking their head at me because it’s not unusual for a little bit of sugar to be leftover—technically a wine is considered “dry” if there is less than 10 grams per liter left.

But imagine a winemaker stops the process of fermentation when there is still quite a bit of sugar left. If you halt the process, you can still taste sweetness of the ripe grapes. Of course, that means you’ll have a lower alcohol wine, too.

The white Zinfandel that most folks think of today was actually created by accident. In the early 1970s the folks at Sutter Home were trying to make a dry version, but the fermentation got “stuck”—the yeasts slowed down and stopped gobbling, even though there was sugar left. You can do a couple things to try to unstick a fermentation, but in this case, they decided to bottle it as it was.

So, to review: White Zinfandel is made when red wine grapes are made in a white wine style—fermenting the juice and not the grapes themselves—to keep the color pink and not red. Then to make a sweeter style, the fermentation is stopped before all the sugar converts to alcohol. I should also point out there are winemakers that make rosés of Zinfandel that aren’t sweet, but for the most part, if you order a white Zindandel, you’ll get a slightly sweet, fruity wine.

—Dr. Vinny