by Ethan Johnson
October 16, 2006

Everybody starts somewhere, they say. Once, when I considered submitting some cartoon work to a comic 'zine called Honk, a friend of mine talked me out of it by reasoning, "do you really want the first line on your resume (CV) to say you did work for Honk?" In retrospect, heck yes! Well, another friend believed firmly that if we miss out on something (i.e. Woodstock), we'll get another shot to live it, albeit to a lesser extent. Thus, it's time to try my first Cabernet Sauvignon, after avoiding it like the plague. Let's see what followed me home:

Producer (Vineyard): Vampire
Varietal (Grape type): Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage (Year): 2003
Country: Romania
Color: Red
Cost: Inexpensive ($9 USD)

Swirl and Sniff: Purply red. I want to say the scent was "jammy", but what kind of jam? I'll have to fall back on the "deep berry" descriptor and hope someone more competent can fill in the wine Mad Libs.

Taste: Mmmmm, nice. Again with the "deep berries" (of unknown type), light to soft tannins, and a super-smooth finish. Ahhh. This is so not what I expected Cabernet to taste like. And it might not... this is from Romania, after all.

Pairing: I paired this with a plateful of Beef Tarragon. The wine did an admirable job of winding its way through the blend of flavors; not really enhancing any, but not fighting anything either.

Rating: When it comes to this wine, I would (and you may):

• Buy three or more bottles for regular enjoyment
• Buy a bottle or two for occasional enjoyment
• Ask for when dining out or at a party
• Settle for if your preferred wine is not available
• Politely decline and never drink again, ever

Here is my theory: Nouveau wine drinkers may favor "jammy" or "big" wines because they're not quite ready to play cat-and-mouse games with "nuance". Lawd knows I have a hard time finding the tertiary and fourtiary characteristics that other wine nerds gush about from wines I have tasted. Cigar box? Pencil shavings? Old man stink? Yeah, whatever. This wine is HUGE, yet smooth. Really, all I'm looking for in a red these days. If this wine were a blog, I'd leave a comment on it and say "subscribed!" Yum.

Note: This wine comes with a nifty synthetic cork, so don't be thinking you'll be storing this until the next incarnation of Dracula. Drink early, drink often. But you knew that when I said "light to soft tannins", didn't you?

If you do give this a try, please let me know how your experience compared with mine. Thanks! <EM>

(The Totally Unpretentious Wine Reviews Index may be found here.)