I've been on a red wine kick lately. Usually I'm a white wine kind of a gal, but lately it's been red. So I'm going to give a little review of each of them and pretend that I know what I'm talking about. My favorite is a California red table wine called Menage a Trois (shocking!). I'm totally that girl that buys new wines to try based on the label. So lots of labels w/ animals on them (penguins, kangaroos, etc.).
The Menage a Trois is quite sweet for a red wine, and has the consistency of merlot. Not too thick, and not dry at all. I think it is too sweet for someone that enjoys Cabernet and traditional Merlots, but if you're not a red wine drinker I think this is a nice wine to try. It was quite smooth with not very much of a tannic taste. According to the lovely people at Napa, and Nikki told me this as well, tannins are what give a red wine that taste that makes your mouth pucker. I'd almost call it a sharpness. So generally, the sign of a good red wine is one that is not tannic. I will try this wine again. I believe it was around $10.
The second wine I tried was called Italo Cescon, Piave Merlot. It has a little piece of the vine from which the grapes came tied around the neck of the bottle. It's very impressive looking, but I wasn't overly fond of it. It had a strange mix of flavors. It was quite tannic, a little dry, but also had a very strange sweet flavor in the background. It's definitely not one I will try again. The bottle was $13.
The third wine I will post on later after I've opened the bottle! It's Gallo, Sonoma Reserve Merlot. I tasted it at the grocery store (yes, my local Jewel-Osco does wine tasting) and I'll give you a preview. Not a typical Merlot, a little dry, not sweet at all, but with a nice consistency that's more reminiscent of a Pinot Noir. The bottle is originally $15, but I got it for $10 since they were doing the tasting today.
The Menage a Trois is quite sweet for a red wine, and has the consistency of merlot. Not too thick, and not dry at all. I think it is too sweet for someone that enjoys Cabernet and traditional Merlots, but if you're not a red wine drinker I think this is a nice wine to try. It was quite smooth with not very much of a tannic taste. According to the lovely people at Napa, and Nikki told me this as well, tannins are what give a red wine that taste that makes your mouth pucker. I'd almost call it a sharpness. So generally, the sign of a good red wine is one that is not tannic. I will try this wine again. I believe it was around $10.
The second wine I tried was called Italo Cescon, Piave Merlot. It has a little piece of the vine from which the grapes came tied around the neck of the bottle. It's very impressive looking, but I wasn't overly fond of it. It had a strange mix of flavors. It was quite tannic, a little dry, but also had a very strange sweet flavor in the background. It's definitely not one I will try again. The bottle was $13.
The third wine I will post on later after I've opened the bottle! It's Gallo, Sonoma Reserve Merlot. I tasted it at the grocery store (yes, my local Jewel-Osco does wine tasting) and I'll give you a preview. Not a typical Merlot, a little dry, not sweet at all, but with a nice consistency that's more reminiscent of a Pinot Noir. The bottle is originally $15, but I got it for $10 since they were doing the tasting today.
Update: Ok, I really like the Gallo Merlot. It's incredibly smooth. I think it's the next step darker than a Pinot Noir really. It does have a base of sweetness to it, I was wrong, but it's just really well balanced and barely tannic. It also has a lovely flavor. Sometimes I can tell that I simply don't like the grapes the wine was made from, as with the 2nd wine, and I think the opposite is true for this wine. I'm very fond of the taste. It's somewhat complex, I think is the best way to describe it. I would highly recommend it if you like the lighter reds and are thinking about trying out some of the darker ones.
P.S. I'm totally listening to Banjo/Bluegrass music while I critique my red wine - kinda strange, huh?
2 comments:
So you'd probably laugh at my sweet soft red wine, huh? I really am trying to branch out - we bought some Gewurztraminer and Riesling at Oliver and those fell into the "semi-dry" wine category. Of course the other 6 types we bought were all the semi-sweet, but we're trying!
I really think you would like that Menage Trois! The soft red at Oliver is too sweet for me, but the Menage Trois is only marginally less so and I really like it. So if you're trying to branch out, I'd go for it. And I wouldn't laugh! I like sweet wines too!
Post a Comment