Chateau Cashflow?

There it is, in all its pink 'glory', staring at you, it almost looks like it's snarling at you. You move towards it, you wonder who brought it, or why they thought it would be a good idea. Did it come from a box? Can you just pour it out and be done with it? How on earth does it keep showing up?
White Zinfandel is the tupperwear party of wine, a glitter speck that for some reason will just not go away, no matter how much you try to rid yourself of it. I say that with all due respect to those who just fell in love with it when it was a transitional bridge for a burgeoning California Wine Industry. It's a money maker for vineyards that don't have to rely on a solid, gripping product, and it poses a serious threat to other Rose wines that are often associated with it.
Since Bob Trinchero had a stuck fermentation(occurs when yeast doesn't fully ferment the sugar in tank) in his Zinfandel in the late 50's, White Zinfandel has been a staple of the Napa Community. Owing it's fan fare to the easy drinkability of strawberries and sweet cherries, the modern day White Zin drinker either doesn't know any better or doesn't care to.
Rested against it's skins, the juice from the crushed Zinfandel grape spends just hours with it's shell before beginning fermentation, stealing what can be the most delightful flavors from a grape that is synonymous with Napa Nativity. The result is a juice that looks like that ectoplasm goo from Ghostbusters II, and probably tastes that way as well. It's boxed or put in oversized Magnums(1.5ml bottles) and hocked the way that faux leather purses line the streets of a bay harbor tourist trap.
Red Zinfandel, on the other hand, is an amazing alternative to enjoying the beautiful nature of this mysterious grape. Zinfandel is in most ways akin to the Primitivo grape and the Crljenak Kaštelansk(don't ask me how to pronounce it either). Zin is perhaps our most famous grape, being affordable and potent at the same time. With a harmonious intermingling of spice and full bodies fruit, it's turning the local wine world on its' heels.
Good Napa or Sonoma Zinfandels are easy to find, any good wineshop should have between 10 to 15 solid buys for under $50 dollars. Falcor makes a beautiful, bigger style Zin that drinks somewhere between a Cabernet Sauvignon and a hearty Durif(a grape that varies only slightly from Petite Sirah). Mixed black and white spices dance on a heavy dosage of Blackberry and dried Cranberries. Owner Mike Bee will tell you that this is his favorite of their wines, and at under $40, that makes it a steal. Howell Mountain's Bear and Lion Zinfandel is a treat for those that think Zins have become overly alcoholic and port-like. It's high-pointed fruit hides its 15.5 alcohol percentage, dusting the fruits with dried tobacco and feverish red spices. It's under $30 dollars too...Need I say more?
The point is, Zins aren't wallet busters, they are affordable and they taste great. Dry Creek Vineyards and Gary Farrell are a few party favorites that deliver nice nuggets of budget value to gourmet fruit. Frank Family puts out a fantastic Zinfandel that wreaks of Cabernet Sauvignon influence, a muscled up version of the varietal that doesn't succumb to overly sweet berries as can be the case in a 'cheap' Zinfandel.
Don't fall into the gap that Fetzer and Sutter Home dropped you in. Eat your cereal from a box, and drink your wine from a nice red bottle of Zin, or perhaps from a drier Rose made from Syrah or Mourvedre. If you want a sweet wine, see any of my other articles on white wines. If you're still drinking White Zinfandel by the end of this article, then you're too tough for me, so enjoy it. Wine is about as accepting as any other facet of society, so don't leave behind something you MUST have if you must have it. Any way you cut it, drinking wine is better than not drinking it. Cheers,
Cameron