Day Fifteen

Let's talk about sweet wine.

I find that a lot of people come into the business I work at and ask for a "wine" called Stella Rosa. It's a sweet, frothy red wine and, in my opinion, not that great an example of wine itself. From what I've gathered, it seems that people are being introduced to this wine (and now think that they've been indoctrinated into wine culture) at their local "Italian" restaurant: Olive Garden.

Looking over Olive Garden's wine list, I really see nothing redeeming (at least nothing that doesn't have a 300% markup on it). The local wine list I checked out, of course, doesn't list Stella Rosa, but people have told me that Olive Garden was where they were first introduced to the stuff. Well, maybe there's something redeeming to the list... maybe the house wine is fundamentally sound. But really, a magnum of the house wine "serves 8 glasses?" I guess it depends on who you ask... you say a magnum serves eight people, I say it takes care of my Tuesday night.

Do I not care for sweet wine? Of course not... I've already reviewed a cream sherry (one of the sweetest kinds of sherry) and I always enjoy a good port, sherry, Sauternes, Tokaji, Late Harvest Zinfandel, any well-made "dessert" wine (for reference in this blog, a dessert wine is a sweet wine that pairs beautifully with dessert; a sweet wine is a clunker that's really too sweet for the meal itself but lacking any good traits to be considered actual dessert)... Sauternes and blue cheese? A pairing to die for! It's just that Stella Rosa (and really, cheaper forms of Muscat too) tastes like sugar in my opinion. Sickeningly sweet goo without character. Nothing redeeming, and you honestly cannot say you like wine if your go-to choice is Stella Rosa.

I know it's good that people are at least being introduced to wine, albeit something I don't care for, but then again, let's remember, this is Olive Garden. I don't mean to stir the kettle, but honestly... Olive Garden? Lets talk logistics... if you want to take a date to a romantic Italian restaurant and you choose Olive Garden, I'm sorry, you are very much lacking in the culture category. Do you really think that'll make you more endearing? Seriously. Dude. First, find a nice little trattoria, your credibility will increase exponentially. Secondly, I give you Jerry Bullfrog's Three Rules for Successful Dates (for guys):
-Be able to confidently order good wine
-Know something about classic art
-Have a sense of humor (that is, don't be a jerk)

Holy cow I've drunk a lot of Haterade tonight. Let's get to the wine. This is a 2006 Todd Taylor Cabernet Sauvignon from San Antonio Valley and, more specifically, the Lockwood Oaks Vineyard. San Antonio Valley is located in southern Monterey County in California. And the single vineyard quality of this wine? To list the vineyard that the grapes came from on the label, 95% of the grapes for the wine must come from that vineyard. Call it "American terroir."

Dark red and purple, dark brick at the edges and totally opaque. The aromas are blackcurrant, cassis, vegetables, and, oddly, marinara sauce. Quite intriguing. The flavors include Blackberry, blackcurrant, cedar, artificial vanilla, and a hint of cherry tomato. The tannins are there, but not as tannic as a cab could be... they subside after a few minutes of air exposure and swirling.

Also, if you have any wine questions, be it pairing wine and food, what to serve in a certain situation, I like this so what else would I like, feel free to leave a comment with your query and I'll leave a comment in response as soon as I can. And, naturally, I will try to drive you away from sub-standard sweet wines, if that's your thing.

Oh, but I do enjoy unlimited salad and breadsticks.