Open bottle, open mind
You’re learning about wine and wondering “Is vintage wine really better?” because that is the perception that receives the most publicity. You will find written that the answer to your question is that it depends on the intention of the winemaker. The writer will go on to tell you that wine can be made in such a way that it improves with age or it can be made with the expectation that it will be drunk within a couple of years or it will decline rapidly. There is much truth to this conventional wisdom. But I’m not here to jump on the train and tell you that line again. A bottle. I’ll tell you about it and you can let the story grow old in your mind or you can drink it now and forget about it.
White Zinfandel is an accidental star on the American wine scene. It is a kind of baby wine drinkers teething ring. The style is typically sweet and fruity, while still having the characteristics of “real” wine, not a soda or juice with an alcohol blend masquerading as wine. For many who are unprepared for the experience of appreciating a more “mature” style of wine, this is a transitional one to help them overcome the hurdle. White Zin is made from a red grape, a deep red grape that, in classic California style, came from elsewhere and decided to put down roots and claim to be native. Zinfandel can be a beast of wine on its own, dark and rustic with plenty of cottony-mouth inducing tannin. In an attempt to make money and as an experiment, White Zin, which is actually pink, was born in a California winery in the 1970s. I’ll save the detailed story for another time, but suffice it to say that the public’s taste buds Americans were ready for this wine and it was a great success. A great success to consume immediately, that is, not to “lie down” as those who have a basement and a stiff upper lip would say.
A friend who didn’t drink wine gave me a bottle of White Zin. It was a common brand name, available on the supermarket shelves, probably around a $ 4 bottle of wine. However, it was not in an important feature. The bottle was over ten years old. This is like having a happy 100 year old grandfather, not something you come across every day in the White Zin kingdom. It came with a disclaimer: “I don’t know if this is good, but I know you like wine. It’s a bit old, but isn’t it good for a wine?” and some details on how old age came to be so late. Basically it occurred to him at a party at his house, he did not get drunk and he quickly went to a closet that was never used and remained there undisturbed. Deep cleaning time finally came to the house and it was dug up again. I took it, mainly to be a grateful friend, but hoping to store it in my septic tank by flushing it down the drain.
I came home that day and opened the bottle, perhaps just curious to smell the vinegar aroma before throwing it away. But my disappointment at the lack of a bad smell was soon replaced by my amazement by a very attractive nose (smell fantasy). The glass was soon next to the bottle and the Zin was soon in the glass. Now he was paying attention. White Zin, as I mentioned, is supposed to be pink like fresh salmon, not brown. Something made to be quite pink that is now brown is surely a bad sign, so I wrote it that way on my list of mental expectations. Prepare for disappointment again. The glass worked like a lens to magnify a brilliant golden brown hue that sparkled like the diamond in an engagement ring, mesmerizing. When I got back to the present I had to test it ASAP, stats or whatever it says NOW! My God! Amazing. I really enjoy the taste of anise (black liquorice) in a wine and this was like never before and I have never found it in anything other than black liquorice, only better. It was a bottle of magic potion!
If the wine had never been opened or poured down the kitchen sink drain, as the wisdom of wine would suggest, I would have missed a great moment. It was supposed to have a ten year old wine and it never impressed me as much as this misfit rule breaker did. Aside from learning that even White Zinfandel can turn magical over time in the right conditions, I take one thought away from the experience and share it with you: Open bottle, open mind.