- Winery:Columbia Crest
- Vintage:2006
- Country: USA
- Region:Washington
- Price: $12.95
- Rating:7 out of 10
Like any other retail enterprise, wine shops have to rely on merchandising and other eye-catching gimmicks to get a patron’s attention. Most wine drinkers have a few select brands that they like to indulge and stick with those. I on the other hand, am a bit more adventurous, especially since I am not the one actually drinking the wine, I just buy it and sample it for review. So the wines I buy are largely influenced on my mood of the day. This last trip to the the store, I was in a playful mood. Some of the wines I bought had fun looks to them, some of them were ones I already knew. (because sometimes, you don’t want to meet new people, you just want a quiet evening with an old friend) This one however, I bought because it looked classy. (Sprinkle a little dust on it and put it in your wine rack and people would swear you know what you are doing when it comes to buying wine)
The deep red (but not purple) hues of the foil and the matching band on the label show that the marketer in charge of the brand really cares that their patrons be perceived as serious wine drinkers. The off-white color of the label gently takes you back to a simpler time when all you had to do is utter the words “Ernest and Julio Gallo” at a cocktail party for people to mistake you for a serious wine critic.
However, it was the serious tones of the back label’s description of the wine making process that sold me. Any vintner who can work in words like aromatic, texture and signature while still remaining aloof and slightly condescending has to be a master at his trade.
As for the wine itself, it is not bad. It is not great, and it is less amusing than the bottle it comes in, but it is a drinkable table wine. Like the bottle, it takes itself a little too seriously. (A $12 wine should never take itself seriously) However, it has a nice taste, a bit sharp with a distinct citrus aftertaste. (Kind of like when you eat an orange and accidentally get a little piece of the skin…it doesn’t kill the experience but it doesn’t add much either.)
The lovely and talented Kathy likes it because the taste does not force you to sip it. She can drink it like a Diet Dr. Pepper (although in MUCH LESS quantity) and let the effects sneak up on her till I find myself watching the latest episode of Memphis Beat alone and know that I will have to re-watch it tomorrow night.
All in all, I give it a 7. I took a point away because it is pretentious but added a couple of points because Kathy liked it. (and honestly, that IS the point of this blog)