Wine Review: Beringer White Zinfandel

In a previous Vocal post, I talked about a new red wine I tried from the brand OP. I talked about how my wine drinking days began with drinking Rosés. I personally enjoy sweeter wines to dryer wines, so Rosés were always my go to when it came to wine. It works out perfectly when your friends and family enjoy different wines than you because it means you can enjoy something to yourself and if you enjoy the same wines you can share when you find something new. After writing the last review of the Sweet Red Wine from OP, it got me thinking about whether or not I even still liked Rosé at all. White Zinfandel and Pink Moscato were my go to wines when I turned of age. I wasn't quite ready for the dark color and rich flavors that came with red wine and the white wines I tried were either too dry for my taste or borderline acoustic to my taste buds, they were that sweet. Rosés by nature are the middle ground of wine in that there used to only be red and white wine and pink wines were made by mixing the two together.

According to the site, vintageroots.co.uk, "the Ancient Greeks thought that diluting wine was the only way to drink it and would add water to both red wines and white wines." The process for creating the pink, Rosé colored wines we know today has changed. There are three different methods; direct pressing, saignée, and skin maceration. Each technique yields something unique and different in shades of pink and taste. Rosé wines are also referred to as Pink wines or Blush wines and can be either sweet or dry, with or without bubbles. Personally I don't like bubbles in my wine with the exception of being in Champagne, it's lighter and the formula used to create Champagne vs Wine makes bubbles taste better than in the wines I have tried. Wines with bubbles feel like fizz in my mouth, very unpleasant while Champagne reminds me of drink Sparkling Cider as a child during the holidays.

After having indulged in mostly red wines over the last 3 or 4 years, I honestly thought I would no longer enjoy pink wines. Any time I have had a glass of pink or white wine, since drinking red wine, I have felt that they were too sweet, which is likely a direct result of the brand I chose and the type of wine I chose. Pinot Grigios tend to be dryer while some Moscatos can be sweet or dry, Pink Moscato from Barefoot is usually a little bit sweeter than I would go for at this stage of my life. I found that going back to the Beringer White Zinfandel was a great choice. The taste wasn't overly sweet so I didn't feel like I was coming down from a sugar high the next morning. Drinking overly sweet wines has the affect sometimes, where my body feels like a child who ate too much candy the night before.

When I was younger I didn't know that a list of ingredients and taste notes were on the back of every wine bottle. I would just grab whatever looked most appealing or what friends would suggest to me that might align with what I liked. More often than not I find bottles I enjoy now that I know to look for flavor components and words like "smooth", "sweetness", and "juicy". I like the design of the bottle itself too or rather the label design. Beringer offers a scale on the back label that indicates how dry or sweet the wine you are choosing will be. For their White Zinfandel the meter sits between Semi-Dry and Semi-Sweet, a little closer to the Semi-Dry side of the scale. Whether I noticed this when I was younger or not I can't recall. Knowing myself I probably say that it was there but didn't think twice about what I was looking at, not to say I didn't care, I just didn't understand why it may have been important. Whereas now, I want every purchase I make to count.

If you are just starting to drink or have yet to find a wine that suits your tastes and you like wines that are both sweet and dry, I recommend the Beringer brand of White Zinfandel. Notes of "red berry and fresh watermelon" offer a smooth and pleasant drinking experience. (quote from the label under "Notes") Have you ever taken a sip of alcohol and your face does the sour lemon thing? That doesn't happen with this wine even at 10.0% alcohol by volume. In my opinion not making the sour lemon face offers a much more pleasant drinking experience.