Posts Tagged ‘fruit forward’
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $8 – $10
Dark coloring with forward flavors of fruit and cherry with a smooth finish. Pairs well with chicken, pork, and sharp cheeses.
Recommendations: I picked up this wine with a pretty good idea of what to expect, and not necessarily in a negative way. I’m a firm believer that there’s a niche and drinker for every wine, and while I might not like them all, it doesn’t mean that others don’t.
There are plenty plenty of wine drinkers like myself, ones that run websites voicing our opinions, that look down on wines that know their niche and don’t aspire to more. I am not one of those people. With that in mind I opened up the bottle of Middle Sister Rebel Red. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Tempranillo
Region: Spain
Cost: $20
Very purple coloring with aromas of red currant, kirsch, and plum that lead into similar flavors on the palate. Great with grilled food, including ribs, burgers, and beef or pork barbeque.
Recommendations: My wife and I disagree on some of the flavors of this wine, but since this is my blog, my opinion is the one that shall prevail. Sorry sweetie. I found the wine to be fairly fruit forward, though not in the same way that many California wines are, just that the fruit flavors were very prominent.
A heavy aroma of alcohol masks most of the aromas, but this does mellow as you let the wine rest in your glass, which gives you ample time to appreciate the deep purple coloring of the wine. Paired with some burgers and fries, this was a great wine to just enjoy a simple meal. I’d really like to try it with some nice juicy ribs, as I think the barbeque sauce would pair great with the fruit flavors of the wine. This is a great cookout wine that doesn’t need fancy food to be appreciated.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California – USA
Cost: $3
The house wine brand of Trader Joe’s grocery store, this wine is very fruit forward in the style of most California Cabernet Sauvignon with a smooth finish with very light tannins.
Recommendations: As a general rule I’ve become less a fan of California Cabernet Sauvignon as I don’t like the fruit forward flavors they tend to exhibit. This Cabernet from Charles Shaw is no exception.
If you like your Cabernet fruit forward and are looking for something that you can buy a case of for under $50, this may be up your alley, but don’t delude yourself into thinking this is any kind of top quality Cabernet. That being said, as a wine to cook with or if you’re stocking up for a party you’re throwing and quality isn’t the biggest concern, the Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon will fill that void.
All in all, there are better Cabernets out there, but for the price it’s hard to argue against at least picking up a bottle of it while you’re in the store. Don’t go out of your way, but go ahead and grab it for a table wine on a lazy Sunday.
Target Wine Cubes
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz (50% Cabernet Sauvignon/50% Shiraz)
Region: California – USA/Australia
Cost: $15.99
Fruit forward Cabernet Sauvignon has a hint of pepper from the Shiraz on the finish. Dark berry flavors present a very mild red wine with low tannins. Will pair well with sauce heavy pastas or as a contrast to heavily seasoned red meats.
Recommendation: For now I’m going to ignore the pros and cons of boxed wine (that will be another post at date soon to come) and look more at the wine. The Target Wine Cube Cab/Shiraz blend is very fruit forward, enough so that if I didn’t know it was a 50/50 split on the blend I would think it was more Cabernet than Shiraz. This wine came camping with my wife and some friends, and for enjoying in the great outdoors with some food cooked over an open flame, it was more than adequate.
I’m not going to delude myself into thinking that Target is now the purveyor of some amazing wine, but for anybody looking for a basic table wine, you really can’t argue against what they’re offering, especially when you consider it’s 4 bottles of wine for under $20. I wouldn’t serve this at a dinner party, but it’s certainly worth keeping on hand for anybody that just drinks wine by the glass.
