Little Vineyards Band Blend Track 9

Tasting notes & discussion 339

It’s Casemates’s first offering ever! We’re pretty excited.
Estate-grown fruit from the Sonoma Valley
Red strat on the label, red wine inside
But did you know red is surprisingly not one of Fender’s top three most requested guitar colors? They’re sunburst, white-on-white, and all black.
Sold by Little Vineyards Family Winery. Fulfilled By Wine Country Connect.

About Little Vineyards
Since 1996, Joan and Rich Little have lived — and raised their family — in the century-old Glen Ellen, California farmhouse they restored on 25 acres of Sonoma Valley wine country. Together with Joan’s brother Ted, they crushed their first vintage as a bonded winery in 2002, from which Ted crafted a pair of award-winning wines (2002 Zinfandel and 2002 Resonance).

Rich also plays in various bands, and between the musicmaking, and the winemaking, and the beautiful vine-covered estate, it all sounds like such an awesome life that you almost start to resent them, although we’re sure they have difficulties like everyone else, and they actually seem really nice.

Like Music to Your Mouth

TASTING NOTES:
Estate-grown Sonoma Valley fruit provides aromas of summer berries and hulled almonds, and a flavor medley of blackberry and plum fruit. Smooth texture; fine, soft tannins; appreciable framework; and a focused and unforgettable finish. A go-anywhere wine perfectly suited to a summer afternoon cookout, rainy evening playing board games, or your next band practice.

TANGENTIALLY RELATED FACT to help you make conversation over this wine:
“Hey, speaking of red wine, and music — did you ever find it strange how, in the video to UB40’s version of Red Red Wine, while they basically act out Neil Diamond’s lyrics, telling the story of a guy who resorts to alcohol in an effort to forget heartbreak — the one noteworthy difference is that the guy is not actually drinking wine? He’s having beer, like almost everyone else onscreen. Weird, right?”

DRINK IT FROM (conventional option):
A standard red wine glass with a full, round bowl and a big enough mouth that you can get your schnozz in there a little. Plain glass, not crystal. We’re trying to relax and have a good time here, not stress out all night about how likely the drinkware is to shatter, and costly it’ll be to replace it if it does.

OR (really-going-with-the-theme option):
A tambourine.

Who's buying this?

How are you buying your bottles?

We’re coming at this Casemates project as “people who like wine”, not “wine experts”. But how much do you know about Dionysus’ bounty?

I bet I could get sommelier certified, honestly.

I bet I could get sommelier certified, honestly.
I mean, I’m not Rain Man about it, but I can name a few AVAs/AOCs.

I mean, I’m not Rain Man about it, but I can name a few AVAs/AOCs.
I know enough not to feel stupid ordering it.

I know enough not to feel stupid ordering it.
Hifalutin wine talk intimidates me a little. I know what I like.

Hifalutin wine talk intimidates me a little. I know what I like.
Oh, man, let me tell you a tale in the comment thread about the time I learned an important thing about wine, or saw a know-it-all wine snob brought down to earth, or drank a whole thing of flat grape Faygo thinking it was an Australian Muscat.

Oh, man, let me tell you a tale in the comment thread about the time I learned an important thing about wine, or saw a know-it-all wine snob brought down to earth, or drank a whole thing of flat grape Faygo thinking it was an Australian Muscat.

439 votes