In the last article we went over the most popular white wines. In this article we're going to try to give equal time to some of the more popular red wines, even though red wines in general are not as popular as white wines. That doesn't mean there aren't some good red wines out there. In this article we'll hit on a few of them.
One of the most popular red wines is Sharp Hill Vineyard Red Seraph. This wine is made from a blend of St. Croix grapes. It is a very smooth wine and goes very well with beef, lamb and pasta dishes. It goes for about $12 a bottle.
Another popular red wine, also from Connecticut, is Cabernet Franc which is made exclusively from Cabernet Franc grapes. This wine is best served with all red meat dishes as well as chocolate desserts. It sells for about $17.50 a bottle.
Another popular red wine, and one of the less expensive red wines, is Pedroncelli 2000 Dry Creek Valley. It has sort of a blackberry flavor, goes very well with red meat and sells for a very cheap $14 a bottle. They say this is a great wine for Valentine's Day.
Of course we would be remiss if we didn't mention the ever popular Chianti which comes from the Tuscany region in Northern Italy. Because the quality of this wine has risen dramatically in recent years so has the price, selling for over $20 a bottle. This is a great wine to have with white meats such as pork or chicken.
Then you have the wines bottle in the Niagara Peninsula. One of the more popular of these is Big Bosc. This is a Bordeaux-style blend with the aroma of lack cherries, plums, and vanilla. This wine goes best with stews and leg of lamb and sells for about $19 a bottle.
Another popular wine from this region is Henry Pelham Gamay. It is suggested this wine be served slightly chilled. It contains aromas of soft cherry, raspberry, pepper spice and plum. The wine is great with stuffed tomatoes and prime rib and sells for about $14 a bottle.
A great British Columbian wine from the Okanagan Valley is the Mission Hill Cabernet. It has a fine aroma of ripe blackberry, cassis mingled with cedar, mocha and smoke. It is great with stuffed red peppers and sells for about $21 a bottle.
Then from California we have Knights Valleys Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has a ruby color and aromas of cocoa, black currant, black cherry and cedar. It is great with a variety of roasts and sells for a hefty $45 a bottle. Yes, this is one very fine wine.
Finally we have a terrific wine from France, the people who just about invented great wine. Just don't tell the Italians that. The wine has a name a mile long. For those who want to tackle trying to pronounce it, the name is Chapoutier Chateauneuf Du-Pape La Bernardine. Try wrapping your tongue around that for a while. As for the wine itself, it has aromas of leather, pepper and liquorice and a black cherry flavor. It goes great with rib eye steak and has a nice price tag of about $40. A really fine wine.
The list goes on and on. There are more great red wines than people realize. So white wine, move over. Red is in the building.
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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Wine
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