Sutter Home Winery is one of the largest family-run independent wineries in the United States, and is the estate known for the creation of White Zinfandel. It is located in St. Helena, California [1] and owned by Trinchero Family Estates.
Sutter Home Winery is one of the largest family-run independent wineries in the United States, and is the estate known for the creation of White Zinfandel. It is located in St. Helena, California [1] and owned by Trinchero Family Estates.
In 1874 the Swiss-German immigrant John Thomann established a small winery and distillery in St. Helena in central Napa County, California. After his death, the winery and Victorian home beside it were sold to another Swiss family, the Leunbergers, who renamed the estate Sutter Home.
As with most Napa Valley wineries, Sutter Home was shut down during Prohibition. The winery remained abandoned until 1948, when it was purchased by John and Mario Trinchero, immigrant brothers from New York City whose family had been active in the Italian wine business. The Trincheros refurbished the winery and began producing Napa Valley wines, initially scraping by making generic jug wines. [2] For years they operated “mom-and-pop” style, selling to their Napa Valley neighbors, who filled their barrels and bottles at the winery's back door. [3] [4]
In 1968 Louis “Bob” Trinchero (Mario's oldest son) began vinifying Amador County Zinfandel. [4]
In 1972, another of Bob Trinchero's innovations provided the American wine consumer with a new style of premium wine known as White Zinfandel. [1] [4] Initially labeled as an Oeil de Perdrix, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms demanded something in English on the label, and the name, "A White Zinfandel Wine" was added. By 1975 the name Oeil de Perdrix was removed. [3] A fortunate accident occurred during the making of the 1975 vintage, as some 1,000 gallons of bleed-off juice from red Zinfandel refused to ferment to dryness, retaining a substantial amount of sugar, and Trinchero put the wine aside for the time. He said, "Two weeks later, I tasted that wine and it was sweet, had a pink color, and I thought, 'Darn, that's pretty good. We bottled it, and the rest is history." [5]
By 1987, Sutter Home White Zinfandel had become the best-selling premium wine in the United States. In 1994, Wine Spectator gave Trinchero its Distinguished Service Award for "having introduced more Americans to wine on the table than anyone in history". [6]
In collaboration with Bob Torkelson, the Trinchero family manages the large winemaking organization, overseeing operations from grapegrowing and production, marketing and sales. The Trincheros are noted for their industry leadership, commitment to sustainable agriculture and preserving the environment. [7]
Today, Sutter Home is the second largest family-owned winery in the world and the fourth largest winery in the United States. [8] All winemaking, bottling, shipping and warehousing operations are concentrated in three modern facilities in Napa County. The original winery site on Highway 29 houses the winery's Visitors Center.
Sutter Home's White Zinfandel production increased from 25,000 cases in 1981 to 1.3 million in 1986. The winery currently produces about 10 million cases a year, with Sutter Home White Zinfandel making up a good percent of the sales. [2]
Sutter Home Winery produces 21 varietal wines including Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, White Zinfandel, White Merlot, Gewürztraminer, Chenin blanc, Moscato, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Red Blend, Pinot noir, Pinot grigio, Sweet Red, Red Moscato, Moscato Sangria, Pink Moscato, Riesling Moscato, Sweet Riesling, Rosé, and Sangria, as of 2020.
White Zinfandel is an off dry to sweet rosé wine which was invented by Sutter Home Family Vineyards winemaker Bob Trinchero in 1948. Originally the result of a stuck fermentation and fortuitous accident, White Zinfandel is made from the Zinfandel wine grape, which would otherwise produce a bold and spicy red wine. As of 2018, Sutter Home White Zinfandel is the no. 1 White Zinfandel, with 29.1 percent dollar share of the $300 million White Zinfandel market and 73.1 percent of the 187 mL White Zinfandel market.
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet on Monte Bello Ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, south of Los Altos, California and west of Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County. Ridge Vineyard's 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon gained prominence for its fifth-place finish in the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting.
Mayacamas Vineyards is a California wine producer located in the Mt. Veeder AVA in the Mayacamas Mountains within the Napa Valley AVA, bordering the Sonoma Valley AVA. The estate is known for producing wine of a more traditional style than the Napa trends of recent years that emphasizes power, weight, high levels of alcohol and extravagance.
New Zealand wine is produced in several distinct winegrowing regions of New Zealand. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean it has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation from north to south. Like many other New World wines, it is usually produced and labelled as single varietal wines, or if blended the varietal components are listed on the label. New Zealand is best known for its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently its dense, concentrated Pinot Noir from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago.
Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard is a family-owned wine company based in Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Brown Brothers was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown and continues to be owned and operated by his descendants on the original property. Brown Brothers makes wine from a wide range of grape varieties and into a range of styles.
Arbor Mist is the brand name of an alcoholic beverage which blends wines such as Merlot, Zinfandel and Chardonnay with fruit flavorings and high fructose corn syrup. Its slogan is "Great Tasting Wine with a Splash of Fruit." Arbor Mist has a lower alcohol content than most wines, and is usually cheaper than other similar alcoholic beverages. It is made by the Arbor Mist Winery in Canandaigua, New York, and is packaged by E&J Gallo Winery.
Barboursville Vineyards is a winery located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the unincorporated community of Barboursville, Virginia. It is located within both the Virginia and Monticello viticultural areas.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Oeil de Perdrix is a rosé wine produced in Switzerland. The history of the wine style dates back to the Middle Ages in the Champagne region of France and from there spread to the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland where it would become a popular dry rosé made from pinot noir. The name œil de perdrix means "partridge's eye" in French, a reference to the pale pink colour of the eye of a partridge in death throes. Until about a century ago, it was common for vineyards to have the red and white grapes unseparated unlike today where each vineyard has a unique grape. This gave white wine, red wine, and what was called grey wine because the wine was neither white nor red. It is also an old name for very pale rosé wine made not by the saignée method, but by "pressurage direct", in which the juice of red grapes is drawn off and fermented with very little contact with the skins. With the modernization of viticulture and separation of grapes, the term Oeil de Perdrix disappeared in France, but remained in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The Canton of Neuchâtel would export Oeil de Perdrix primarily to the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland, but also to other cantons, namely to the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, and Valais. After the Second World War, the latter decided to start producing their own Oeil de Perdrix. When the policy for wine of controlled origin (AOC) in Switzerland began, the Canton of Neuchâtel claimed the sole Oeil de Perdrix AOC, but it was refused; the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Valais, and Neuchâtel all have the Oeil de Perdrix AOC today. The early origins of the American wine White Zinfandel can be traced to a California winemaker's attempt at making an Oeil de Perdrix–style wine.
Folie à Deux is a wine out of Sonoma County that is part of the Trinchero Family Estates.
Foris Vineyards Winery is an American winery located near Cave Junction, Oregon in the Illinois Valley region of the Rogue Valley AVA of Southern Oregon. As one of Oregon's pioneering grape growers, Ted Gerber planted his first vineyard in 1974. For 15 years, Gerber provided fruit to other winemakers, until 1986 when the winery was founded by Ted and Meri Gerber and the Foris label was launched.
Reif Estate Winery is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada. Reif Estate is primarily known for playing an important in role pioneering the Ontario wine Industry, as well as planting some of the first Vitis vinifera vines in the Niagara region.
Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery is the third largest exporter of bottled wine in Chile. It was created in 1993 as subsidiary of Concha y Toro Winery.
Hagafen Cellars is a winery located in the Napa Valley. Founded in 1979, it was the first kosher winery in California, and is "the first of the upscale kosher brands." The winery is owned and operated by winemaker Ernie Weir and his wife, Irit Weir.
South Tyrol is an autonomous province located in north-east Italy producing wine. This Austro-Italian wine region is noted for the distinct Austrian influences on the wine industry due to the region's long history under the rule of Austria-Hungary and Holy Roman Empires.
Cecil O. De Loach Jr. is a California grape-grower and winemaker in the Russian River Valley AVA who has contributed to the reputation and notoriety of Sonoma County viticulture.
Twomey Cellars is a California winery. It was established in 1999 by the Duncan Family, who have operated the successful Silver Oak Cellars in California since 1972. The Duncan Family started Twomey Cellars to pursue varietals other than Cabernet Sauvignon. Twomey has three wineries: one in Calistoga in the Napa Valley; one in Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley; one in Philo in Anderson Valley, and produces mainly Pinot noir, Merlot, and Sauvignon blanc. Twomey’s Sauvignon blanc is a blend of Sauvignon blanc grapes from their estate vineyards at their wineries in Napa Valley, Anderson Valley, and Russian River Valley.
Whitehall Lane Winery & Vineyards is a winery located in St. Helena, CA. It is owned and operated by the Leonardini Family. In 2013, they celebrated their 20th year of Family Winemaking in the Napa Valley.
Kenwood Vineyards is a winery in Kenwood, California, located on Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley wine country. It is currently owned by Pernod Ricard Winemakers.
St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery is a 100% estate winery located in the Napa Valley of California, with a vineyard and winery in Rutherford, and a 1,531 acre ranch, Dollarhide, in the Napa Valley foothills.
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