Fox in the Vineyard

Casey Jones on the speakers

I’ve never really been a big listener of the Grateful Dead. Don’t hate me – I’m just usually late to jump on any bandwagon. Not just late, but running about a mile or two behind, sweating my ass off. So tonight I’m chilling out listening to Casey Jones as I’m writing this because it only makes sense to fully immerse myself in the full experience.

A Halloween-weekend find

I found this wine on an endcap at Fine Wine & Good Spirits in Media, PA on Halloween weekend. It was a double pack, and I love a good emo-themed two-fer. The best part about my shopping trip today was there was a mother and a son shopping in the Italy section and Mom was dressed in a steampunk dress complete with silver chains hanging down from her neck and a silver mask riding along on her head. Her son, who I didn’t even think was in costume at first, had a black outfit with a skeleton painted on the front. I absolutely dug their vibe.

“I love a good emo-themed two-fer.”

Small price, big punch

Okay, so this isn’t an expensive wine at all. About $9 a bottle. And so I wasn’t expecting it to pack such a punch, but boy did it surprise me. My first thought was that it must have flavoring added in post-fermentation, but when I did my research it turns out that’s not the case. This wine is all natural when it comes to its flavor composite.

Why it’s so bold: the old vines

The vines are between 35 and 85 years old, and since they come from ancient vines, you’re going to get that higher flavor profile, richer in sugar content and concentrated flavors. You’re also going to see a higher alcohol content because of those higher sugar levels. It’s also hot as hell during growing season with not much rain, and so the roots of the vines are digging down deep into sandy soil to look for water. This means that the vines are focused on the grapes, and not so much the leaves. So that’s full-on concentration right to the fruit. It all adds up now as to why my glass is erupting with flavor.

The verdict

This wine isn’t going to be found in your Michelin-star restaurants, but honestly, it’s a fun wine to drink and really flavorful. I’m giving this one a 7.5 out of 10.

I’d pair it with something like a bold tortellini where the ricotta really shines, or ribs with a sweet & tangy BBQ sauce. If you’re going with ribs, make sure they’re really meaty ribs where you can savor the flavor of the meat, the sauce and the wine.

One last note

Just to close us out, Grateful Dead is pretty chill. I might write to them sometime. I’m thinking maybe Book 3 of the series I’m working on now, which starts with Wildflower Way and Diamante. My unnamed Book 3 has this overall vibe. I’m not sure the wine matched the music vibe for me. It was a little conflicting with all that bold-screaming-in-your-face flavor and notes, but the kick-back-and-chill-guitar-by-the-fire sound.