Bob Trinchero
In 1947, Louis “Bob” Trinchero’s parents bought the famous Sutter Home Winery in St Helena. Louis became the winemaker in 1958.
In those days, Sutter Home was a successful player in the jug and fortified wine markets. An astute businessman, Mr. Trinchero also had the ambition to make premium wine.
In 1968, he produced the first of his critically acclaimed Zinfandels from the Sierra Foothills. In 1972, he wanted to make an even more extracted wine. He pressed the grapes and removed some of the juice before fermenting the thick must. He used this excess juice to make a rose wine, and invented the world’s first White Zinfandel.
He had an immediate local market for this wine and he began to experiment with different sugar levels. He settled on an off-dry style that has been the standard for White Zinfandel ever since. This development was an enormous financial windfall for the Trinchero Family.
The success of White Zinfandel gave Louis Tinchero freedom to pursue his premium quality projects including Montevina in the Sierra Foothills. He recently purchased Folie a Deux for a reported $16 million. This winery is located between the towns of St Helena and Calistoga in the Northern Napa Valley.
