I'm not going to lie to you: I'm a drinker. But I am not the sort of drinker who can write with a sommelier's genius about a wine's nose or residual sugars or whatever else it is that reduces me to sticking with the same bottles again and again and again.And so it was that I sent the man of the house out with orders to get something -- anything -- from California, and just for fun make sure the anything in question had an interesting label.
He scratched his head, shrugged his shoulders and headed out the door with this ill-defined directive ringing in his ears. When he returned, he had a bottle of Joe Blow Red (I will not even waste your time on the other bottle he scored -- Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin. Sipping it made me sad).
Joe Blow Red ($10) is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Billed as a serious wine with a none-too-serious label, you definitely get a lot of fun, fruity taste (I'm guessing that's from the Syrah and Zin, maybe?) with a hint of Cab kick. One wine writer suggested chilling it for 20 minutes to make it more refreshing in the warm weather, but me, I'm more of a room temperature red kind of girl, just on principle. Though it took me a while to warm up to it, it's not a bad wine; it's something I could see drinking with a grilled pork tenderloin or barbecued chicken breast, but it wouldn't stand up too well to a nice New York strip steak. And I would bet (just a hunch here) that this would be a perfect base for a homemade sangria.
Just a hunch.
If you try it, let me know what you think.
10 comments:
now I'm intrigued.... I'll keep my eye out for it
Cheers!
Always up for a good red!
You didn't like Gnarly Head?
I think it's pretty good and will always grab a bottle if I see it under $10.
Mrs. Big D -- You have to give it a bit, but it will grow on you. It's kind of a fun summer wine.
Mimi -- Go check it out.
Whit -- I wasn't a huge fan of the Gnarly Head, no. Some Zins I like better than others and this one was too tart or too spicy or something. I couldn't put my finger on what it was. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind.
Ohhh sangria! We have a great recipe for that. I'll have to look for that wine now.
That's hilarious! I would buy that just for the label so I could give it as a hostess gift.
I was wondering about that one!
But I love me a few bottles of Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin. It has been our favorite camping wine for the past month! To each their own! :)
I can say Joe Blow Red is yummy, and when you see it grab a bottle or two!!
Love your review and comments. Gnarly Head is great for the price, undoubtably. Joe Blow, is just a fun everyday drinkable Red. Nothing fancy, just what it is. Thanks for reviewing the wines & for the comments posted by others! Ps- I actually work for the company who produces these wines, and we are thankful for bloggers reviews. Cheers!
Joe Blow Red is a very yummy "mistake". I've converted non red drinkers to liking it. Living in Oregon we have good red, but Joe is really,really good red.
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