Sip this red blend when you’re eating olives or baked pasta
This earthy wine from Washington's Columbia Valley has flavors reminiscnt of the Mediterranean.
Wine is made with 100% fruit, so it’s not surprising that many taste so “fruity.” Oddly, though, the chemical reactions of fermentation tend to scramble the flavor compounds present in grapes, resulting in wines that taste and smell more like orchard fruits, tropical fruits, or woodland berries than they do of grapes. There is also a full spectrum of wine styles whose flavors can register as vibrantly fresh fruit, as jammy cooked fruit, or even as dried fruit, depending on vineyard climate and winemaking tactics. However, many wines feature additional layers of flavor complexity from outside the fruit range in a way that can add dimension and flavor interest to the fruit-like base.
Among wines from the Americas and southern hemisphere, these extra flavors tend to skew dessert-like – think caramel, vanilla, coconut, or melted butter. These tastes do not add sugar to dry wine, but rather help them smell of sweet things you might find in a pastry shop. European wines more often feature earthier flavors of vegetables, herbs, or spices, flavors that register as more savory, meaning more like your dinner than like your dessert. However, some wines defy this general rule, as with this surprisingly earthy red blend from Washington’s Columbia Valley region. It may be made primarily with merlot, one of the fruitiest of red wine grapes, but its flavors are decidedly savory, adding Mediterranean whiffs of black olives, roasted tomato, and thyme to a tasty base of fresh blueberry fruit in a way that will pair brilliantly with roasted meats and baked pasta dishes, too.
Hedges “CMS” Red Blend Columbia Valley, Washington
$14.99; 14% alcohol
PLCB Item #98119
Sale price through Jan. 3, 2021 – regularly $16.99
Also available at:
Wine Warehouse in Voorhees, NJ - $11.99
Kreston Wine & Spirits in Wilmington - $13.99
Total Wine & More in Claymont, Del. - $15.99