We open our series in California’s fertile Central Valley to trace a vintage 1991 murder back to its unexpected source: White Zinfandel. This sugary pink wine swept the nation in the 1980s, setting off America’s rosé craze and introducing countless new drinkers to wine. But few people remember White Zin’s connection to a multi-million dollar fraud. Even fewer know it inspired a much darker crime. Listen to Blood Vines on the Wondery app or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting www.wondery.com/links/blood-vines.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What warning is given at the start of the episode?
This podcast contains strong language and violence. Listener discretion is advised. June 11th, 2021. It's a stifling hot day in California's Central Valley. The air feels thick and heat shimmers above the ground. But the area I've just walked into is cold, clinical, bureaucratic. I pull out my phone to record a voice memo.
Chapter 2: What happened at the San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse?
Okay, so I just got to the San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse to view the case exhibits. We're going to go through them in the order that they were presented at trial, and we'll see what comes up here.
I'm in a private room off the courthouse's second floor lobby, and spread out before me on tables are envelopes, bags, and boxes. A legal clerk named Margarita stands among them wearing gloves. She doesn't want me to record her while she gives instructions, but they are as follows. I'm not to touch anything. I'm not to take photos. She will handle each piece of evidence so I can observe it.
Chapter 3: What evidence was reviewed during the investigation?
And yes, she says, I can record voice memos as I view the items. I'm nervous and excited. While I've read a lot about the evidence presented in this room, I've never seen any of it for myself. We start going through the case exhibits, and Margarita looks a little grossed out. I can't blame her.
I put 54 away.
So I'm looking at the pillowcase now, which has dried bodily fluid on it and looks kind of brown and crusty. And there's a floral print pattern with some dried brown stuff in the corner. Might be blood, might be other bodily fluid.
Next comes a cotton sweater. Its backside, definitely dark with blood. There's a towel, a spent bullet casing, the murder weapon.
It's the body of a Colt 45, but it's a 22, so it doesn't look like a 22, even though it is a small caliber gun. But yeah, kind of like a blue steel with wooden grips on the side.
So far, most everything matches the police reports. There are a few surprises, like when the clerk produces a paper lunch bag full of audio cassette tapes. I'm gonna need copies of those. And then, well, I'm not prepared for what comes next.
So I'm being presented with some of the photos, which is really quite striking to see for the first time, having only read lots of descriptions of this.
It's the murder scene. And as I take in the details, it's the little things that get me. The crooked angle of the victim's neck. The way the man lies backwards, one leg straight, the other knee bent, on a sofa. The expression on his face, peaceful, relaxed, unsuspecting. The photograph's grainy quality only adds to the eeriness. But I am also unsettled for a different reason.
After years of searching, I think I finally know who killed him. My name is Chris Walker. I'm an investigative journalist. And for almost half a decade now, I've been researching how the man in the photograph was connected to an entirely different case, a fraud case. You see, before his death, the victim was just one person under investigation for a multimillion-dollar scam.
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Chapter 4: How did White Zinfandel come to be?
Rosé.
Yay. Cheers, y'all.
Maybe you've seen the bottles of White Girl Rosé or the Rosé All Day Tank Tops. This Barbie-colored drink is sipped on screen by the Beverly Hills Housewives and is a favorite on Instagram, backdropped by Coastal Vineyards. Hashtag no filter. But what we're experiencing right now is actually Rosé's second or even third coming in America.
The real Rosé revolution, the one that really put it on the map, happened in the 1980s when White Zinfandel took over the wine world. It's worth the briefest history lesson here, not just because its rise laid the foundations for murder, but because White Zin's origin story and its staying power are kind of wild.
My aunt loves White Zin. She will always love White Zin. I think she's in her 80s.
This is Catherine Cole.
I'm a podcast host, but I'm also a recovering wine journalist. I have written five books on wine, and my fourth book was called Rosé All Day.
And Cole says there are many, many people just like her aunt. But what most don't know is that White Zinfandel came about because of a mistake. As Cole writes, we have to go back to the year 1975. The setting, Sutter Home Winery in St. Helena, California. There we come across winemaker Bob Trincaro, who was trying to make a name for his then-struggling family winery.
Some of his efforts included making traditional French-style rosés, which had been around for at least a few centuries. And so one afternoon, Trinchero took some leftover runoff juice from red Zinfandel grapes.
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Chapter 5: What was the impact of White Zinfandel on the wine industry?
Chapter 6: What scandal is tied to White Zinfandel?
My aunt loves White Zin. She will always love White Zin. I think she's in her 80s.
This is Catherine Cole.
I'm a podcast host, but I'm also a recovering wine journalist. I have written five books on wine, and my fourth book was called Rosé All Day.
And Cole says there are many, many people just like her aunt. But what most don't know is that White Zinfandel came about because of a mistake. As Cole writes, we have to go back to the year 1975. The setting, Sutter Home Winery in St. Helena, California. There we come across winemaker Bob Trincaro, who was trying to make a name for his then-struggling family winery.
Chapter 7: How did White Zinfandel change American drinking culture?
Chapter 8: What is the significance of the murder connected to White Zinfandel?
For the past 15 years, America has been in the middle of a rosé fervor. These pink wines now account for nearly 10% of the American wine market, and they've even developed their own subculture.
Oh, that shoots out. Woo! Oh, man. Rosé.
Rosé.
Yay. Cheers, y'all.
Maybe you've seen the bottles of White Girl Rosé or the Rosé All Day Tank Tops. This Barbie-colored drink is sipped on screen by the Beverly Hills Housewives and is a favorite on Instagram, backdropped by Coastal Vineyards. Hashtag no filter. But what we're experiencing right now is actually Rosé's second or even third coming in America.
The real Rosé revolution, the one that really put it on the map, happened in the 1980s when White Zinfandel took over the wine world. It's worth the briefest history lesson here, not just because its rise laid the foundations for murder, but because White Zin's origin story and its staying power are kind of wild.
My aunt loves White Zin. She will always love White Zin. I think she's in her 80s.
This is Catherine Cole.
I'm a podcast host, but I'm also a recovering wine journalist. I have written five books on wine, and my fourth book was called Rosé All Day.
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