Dear readers,

If you were to ask certain winos, sommeliers, or aficionados today about their first wine drinking experience, I’m sure one answer would repeat itself more than you might expect. “Well, let’s see. The first wine I had was white zinfandel. I was about ___.” For me, I was 11 years old when I had my first sip of wine, and that wine was white zinfandel. I’m not afraid to admit it. It’s like fruit juice with soft alcohol. For the novice palate, it’s a great way to get into wine, but the truth is that I haven’t had it since.

I drank a first growth Bordeaux when I was 14 and fell in love from there. My father took the family to Bordeaux region where we traveled to many of the top producers. There we really learned the proper ways to analyze and drink wine. You see, growing up in a European family meant that wine was always flowing in the house because my father felt it was a great way to bring culture to the household.

But how did white zinfandel really make its way into the US market?

The name “zinfandel” really got shoved into the spotlight in the mid 1970’s by Sutter Home Winery. The winemaker, Bob Trinchero (now CEO) bled some juice off of a zinfandel lot he was fermenting to give it big color and concentration. He didn’t really know what to do with the “pink” sweet juice that he drained from that lot, so he bottled it and called it “White Zinfandel” and just sold it through the tasting room. It was a big hit! People bought it and demanded more, and the boom of white zinfandel continues today, with Beringer Winery selling the most in the U.S.A.

My point to this blog is that if you’re a fan of white zinfandel, there is so much beauty beyond this novice level wine. I jokingly call it the “gateway drug” because, in my opinion, it opens you up to the rest of the wine world. It is a warm-up, but for every warm-up, the race will follow. And honestly, there are thousands of wines out there, both red and white varietals, that are perfect options beyond the step of white zin.

A great grape, for example, is young garnacha or Grenache. The characteristics of this varietal are soft, supple, chocolaty, & fruity- but much more sophisticated than a white zinfandel. So please join our Spanish wine revolution as we bring wines to the market for every level of palette, and we’ll educate you along the way.

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A quick and easy recipe:

A Croissant Panini

Ingredients:

• 4 croissants, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
• 4 ounces smoked Gouda, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 8 teaspoons grated Parmesan
• 4 ounces Genoa salami (about 24 slices)
• 5 ounces arugula

Directions:

Heat a panini grill or just a regular pan. Divide 1-ounce (1/3 cup) smoked Gouda between 1 top and 1 bottom of a croissant. Sprinkle each half with 1 teaspoon Parmesan. Top each side with about 3 slices of Genoa salami (about 1 ounce of salami per sandwich, total.) Top 1 half of the sandwich with a small handful of arugula salad. Close the sandwich and continue with the remaining sandwiches. Grill the panini until the cheese melts, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Cut each sandwich into thirds. Place the remaining arugula on a serving platter. Place the warm sandwich slices on the arugula. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Entender es Disfrutar,

~Josh