I hope that everyone out there had a very merry Christmas…full of laughter and good food and gifts that don’t have to be returned. Last week I shared some of my favorite white wines that I sipped during the past year, and since I am an equal opportunity Winey Mom, this week, it’s the reds turn.
Red wine had a very good year, as study after study told us how healthy it was to sip on it in moderation. So in the interest of my good health, I did an extensive study of reds. Here are some of the ones that stood out this past year. They can be found throughout Northeast Ohio at your favorite wine store.
Ménage à Trois Midnight (2012, 13.5%, CA). Technically, it’s actually a
Ménage à Quatre, since there are four wines used to make it (Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon). But Ménage à Quatre really doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it as Ménage à Trois does, so I will not quibble with them on this fact. What I will do is tell you right now to go out and buy this wine. Once again, a red blend has made it into my “dangerously good” category. And by dangerously good, I mean that you just can’t resist it. The nose is full of ripe cherries and cocoa powder and dark red berries. You will taste cocoa, cherry and a bit of sweet blackberry. It finishes to smooth, faint oak tannins with a cherry bite to them. This wine is velvety and rich in your mouth and is amazingly layered with flavor. You get the fruit but not at the expense of the gorgeous oak and cocoa. If you love your red wines balanced, silky and full of flavor you will want to try this. This is a go to wine for sipping alone or with beef or lamb. It is widely available and will cost $10-$12.
Fred’s Red (NV, 13.9%, Mendocino Co, CA) is a rusty maroon color and has 
aromas of cherry, strawberry and smoke. The first flavors that come through when you sip are berries, then mocha and a wisp of smoke and a tinge of oak. Later on you’ll taste some dark spices and feel some very supple tannins. It’s smooth in the mouth and is full of wonderful flavors and tastes. It’s nicely fruit forward (I know there is some Zinfandel in there) but with enough mocha and smoke to keep the fruit from being obnoxious. Layered and balanced and bursting with taste. This is a wonderful sipping wine. Drink it if you like your reds velvety and fruity with a touch of mocha.
Route 152 Pinot Noir (14.4%, 2012, Central Coast, CA), from Pietra Santa
Winery. Route 152 is a very pretty red color, with aromas of cherry blossoms and red berries. It had flavors of red cherry and strawberry and raspberry and a touch of vanilla oak. It was bright and full of flavors and feels like a thin silk ribbon in the mouth. I liked it at first sip! It runs in the $10-$11 range and is one of the brightest Pinot Noirs I’ve tasted.
Up next are two Rosé wines. And while technically they are pink in color, they are made from red grapes, so they are on the 2014 red wine list.
La Playa’s Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé (2012, 13.5%, Chile). A very pretty 
pinky-salmon color, the bouquet is a lively strawberry and minerals. The first flavors are the strawberry, along with cranberry. Then came a bit of stony, mineral flavor. There was a hint of flowers at the edge of it all. (The wine is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Viognier, which explains the flowers.) The finishing taste was tart fruit and minerals. This Rosé had aroma and layers of flavors and was pretty generally an amazing taste. I even wrote the word “amazing” down in my notes. I was that pleasantly surprised.
Banfi’s Centine Rosé (2012, 12.55, Italy). This time, the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are blended with Merlot and Sangiovese, instead of Viogner. Again, a very
lively nose of cranberry, with some strawberry on top of it. The taste was juicy strawberry, lime and kiwi and it finished off with crisp minerals and citrus rind – perfectly tart! And there it was, another good reason to like a dry Rosé wine. As far as Italian wines are concerned, this could easily become one of my favorites.
And now, since we are just a few days away from New Year’s here are some sparkling options for you:
Bolla’s Prosecco Extra Dry (NV, 11%, Italy). Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine made from the Glera (or Prosecco) grape. This wine starts out with aromas 
of minerals and faint honeysuckle. The taste began with orange blossom, turned into pear and ended on a dry sugar cookie note. I know you’re probably reading that going “HUH?”, but the taste went from sweet (orange) to dry (pear) to sweetly dry (the crumbly sugar cookie). This was a very bouncy wine. The flavors stayed in my mouth too, instead of fizzily dissolving as they do in some bone dry sparkling wines. It leaves you with a light fruit taste in your mouth, instead of a tongue in dire need of Chapstick. You’ll pay between $10-$12 a bottle for it. This is a great sparkler for those who want some great flavor at a reasonable price. It is a bit sweeter than you think of when you think of sparkling wine or Champagne, but in this case that is a very good thing.
Biltmore Winery’s Pas de Deux (2010, 12.5%, Asheville, NC, grapes from CA). Pas de Deux is a sparkling Moscato, made from 100% Muscat Canelli
grapes. What a delight this wine is! The first thing you’ll notice about it is all those pretty little bubbles. You will catch the scents of apricot and orange blossom, followed by flavors of almond cookies and mock orange. It finishes on a slightly bitter lemon fruit note. This is a semi-dry wine and has such a wonderful, grown up flavor to it! Fruit, but not cloying fruit. Think of it as teatime as compared to a child’s birthday party. It would pair well with a range of foods, from fruit to seafood to a creamy dessert. Or toasting the New Year.
So there you have it, the red wines that stood out in 2014. They all originally appeared in one form or another on my blog, The Winey Mom.
Do you have a favorite red wine from the past year? If so, list it in the comments and share the sipping fun!
Happy New Year and cheers!
