Winey Tasting Notes: Apothic Red

It's funny how sometimes a certain item seems to "follow" you around. You'll hear a song mentioned and then suddenly it's playing on the radio. Or you try a new food and the recipe then pops up in a magazine. It was that way with me  and Apothic Red Wine. I had seen it in a number of stores....my eyes drawn to the striking black and red label. Then, in a Facebook conversation, someone mentioned they had tried the wine and loved it. And shortly after that, at a Halloween party, I wound up in a discussion with two other women who said it was their new favorite red. Never one to discount the opinions of a Spanish revolutionary and the female SNL Spartan cheerleader, while I myself was dressed as the red Angry Bird (hubby, who hates to dress up, carried the slingshot), I decided that this was some kind of message from the vino gods and went out and procured a bottle.

Apothic Red, 2009, California, 13.1% alcohol, is actually a blend of three wines: Zinfandel, Syrah and Merlot. It takes its name from the Apotheca, a mysterious area where 13th century European wine makers blended and stored their wine. (Yes, I read that on the Apothic website. I don't know everything for heaven's sake.)  It's a beautiful, clear, dark red color - that amazing red that just screams "Christmas". The first sniff of the wine gives you a nose-ful of red pepper and dirt with some sharp, fermented cherries.  Wow!

The amazing bouquet makes good on its promise once you start sipping. The wine is full bodied and smooth and tastes of cherries, deep plum, pepper and something that actually warms your mouth. The finish is long and peppery and tingly and actually might make you feel happy that the weather outside is turning frosty. (I say "might" with last winter's epic snow total in mind.)

I will be inviting Apothic Red to our holiday celebrations this year. In fact, at $10-12 a bottle, it has an open invitation.

This paired very well with cheddar cheese, brie, crackers and a family room showing of  "From Here To Eternity" (great movie - and even though you can't drink it, I'm going to give that a high rating too).

Cheers!

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