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 Sin Zin—an “official” history of the labelA shared meal is often the source of inspiration, great ideas and good cheer. One such evening led us to create AVV’s proprietary wine, Sin Zin. General Manager and founder Hank Wetzel tells the tale... During the winery’s early years, we made just four varietal wines: Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. We sold the balance of our estate grapes to other wineries. In 1978, three years after we built the winery, we had a large second crop of Zinfandel grapes on our hillside vines (these are smaller clusters that ripen later than the primary grape crop). One evening, as we shared a few bottles of wine over a bountiful family meal, we decided to pick this later crop and make a little homemade wine. (According to Federal law, each household is allowed to make 200 gallons of wine per year, for personal consumption.) The Wetzel family crushed their grapes, fermented and aged the wine—not in the bonded winery, but in the thick-walled, adobe building originally built by Cyrus Alexander in the 1840s. When it came time to bottle and label the wine, AVV’s Assistant Winemaker at that time, Dennis Hill, brought an art history book to the winery. Leafing through the book, Katie Wetzel Murphy came upon a captivating illustration, a seventeenth-century German etching, which I believe is called Des Knabben Wunderhorn, meaning “The Horn of Plenty.” The image looked perfect for a wine label, and its bacchanalian character inspired her to name our rich and robust wine—Sin Zin. An immediate sensation, Sin Zin became a cult wine among the Wetzel family and their friends. The wine was so popular, that in 1980 we produced 1,000 cases of Sin Zin for the national market. Like many Zinfandels made in the early 1980s, the Sin Zin was big, bold and brash in style, not for everybody. AVV ceased production of Sin Zin between 1984 and 1988: instead the Wetzel family produced a lighter, more elegant Zinfandel under the Alexander Valley Vineyards label. Our customers rebelled and cried out for Sin Zin. AVV resumed Sin Zin production in 1989 with a handsome version of the original label and the wine’s popularity continued to grow. In 1999, James and Carolyn Robertson, creators of our New Gewurz, Cyrus and AVV labels, once again refined the Sin Zin package and brought the illustration to life with rich earthy hues. Today, while more refined than the original vintages, our robust Zinfandel is brimming with luscious fruit flavors and ample tannin, and its acclaim is still growing. Our 2001 Sin Zin received more Gold Medals in national competitions than any previous vintage. This year for our twenty-fifth anniversary release, we had artist Chris Blum update the color scheme once again. We know that some people may initially buy the wine for its unique package, but they come back again and again for the wine quality. |
