We found this wine at the local Super-Target and automatically fell in love with the label. And even though they had it priced at $12.99, and we usually try to keep our initial purchases of "unknowns" to around $10 - the beauty of the label trumped our better judgement. We're just suckers for aviator glasses and a well turned cravat.
In someways, this is a combination of the two interests of this blog, our reading and our wines. The character on the wine label could very well serve as a poster child for the Steampunk Genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk is a type of fiction which applies the Science Fiction attitude of fascination of the cutting edge of technology and applies it to the late 1800's. Think Jules Verne or the old Wild Wild West tv show. My favorite book of the genre is "The Difference Engine" by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. There was also a lovely Role Playing Game published in the 80's called "Space: 1889" which used the science theories for space travel that were current in 1889 (until Einstein ruined the party by proving aether doesn't exist.)
Meanwhile, back to the wine with the lovely label:
This is a Red blend - whose main component (Tannat - 34%) is something that we're not familiar with. It also includes 28% Zinfandel, 18% Merlot and 10% Cab, 4% Petit Syrrah and 6% of my old favorite "Other." These guys also make a few other varieties of Stark Raving, but their pictures are nowhere near as cool as their Red.
The first meal we had with it, may have put it to a test it wasn't ready for. We had spaghetti with the new Prego Sauce: Bacon and Provolone . When I first announced the pairing, Julie was less than thrilled, but after she tried it she was actually "modestly pleased" with it. She said I could buy it again, just not for a while. So, I'll probably wait until our son has come home from college, and he'll definitely appreciate it.
As you can imagine, a tomato-y, bacon-y, cheesy sauce is quite a bit for a new wine to stand up to.
And Stark Raving Red didn't quite make it there. It seemed to me to be a bit thin, the tannins were there, but having a real tough time fighting their way to the front of the palate with this extremely flavorful spaghetti sauce we were having. On a 0 to 10 scale (0 = call the HazMat team, 10 = doesn't exist in reality - but in Plato's cave of ideals.) I gave it a 6, Julie gave it a 7.
Once our glasses got poured, the wine was recorked and put back on top of the fridge. Experienced wine people, especially those who make money from selling you wine will tell you that (saving the second half of the bottle until the next day) is a no-no. But as people who never drink more than one full glass per meal, it's a risk we're willing to take. Unlike waiters at restaurants, if we don't like it the second day - we're not at risk of losing our tip.
The next evening we had chicken breasts stuffed with broccoli and cheese sauce. So, I get the wine from on top of the fridge, put it in the freezer for five minutes, then turned the bottle upside down a couple times to mix it up, removed the cork and poured another two glasses.
Maybe because the food was a so much better match for the wine, it made up for the oxidization, or the layer of wine ruined by 24 hour contact with air was thin enough that it could be overwhelm by the other wine - but i actually liked it better the second day. And gave it a 7 with the chicken and so did Julie.
Personally, I wouldn't pay $12,99 again for this. But looking around on the web, and it's available for $9.99 in Dallas - and it does make more sense at that price. I'd just avoid pairing it with tomato based Italian food. I could see this working well with some of the stronger tasting fish, or maybe beef stew.
Add to todo list: Find out more about Tannat wine.
