WHITESNAKE mainman David Coverdale spoke with Robert Simonson from Wine Spectator recently about his new wine, aptly named The Whitesnake Zinfandel 2010. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Wine Spectator: How long have you been interested in wine?

David Coverdale: "Being a child of the ’50s in England, it was only the aristocracy who could afford to indulge in European pleasantries. I didn’t really get to taste wine until an aunt took me to northern Italy when I was 10 or 11. That was just a finger dipped in. The next time, I was an art student of 15 or 16. I and a half-Spanish friend of mine would go to this delicatessen and get a loaf of French bread, cheeses and an old bottle of Chianti, the kind with straw around it. That was a life-changing experience for me in working-class northern England. Of course, when I was blessed with getting a gig with DEEP PURPLE and flying all over the world in private planes and dining in Paris with 13 knives and forks on either side of the place setting, I was introduced to an astonishing array of wines."

Wine Spectator: The Whitesnake wine is a Zinfandel. Is that a varietal you like?

Coverdale: "It’s funny. (Winemaker) Dennis De La Montanya is a huge rock and roll fan, and I’m a huge wine fan. A mutual friend, who runs the Vegas Hilton, said, 'Well, this could be an interesting cocktail to put these guys together.' Dennis recommended a Zin. We had no idea if this was going to do anything, so I agreed to 300 cases. And poof—gone! We had an order for 1,000 cases, so we’re putting together a Merlot. You can’t stop an express train."

Read the entire interview here.