Medium ruby in color, the 2018 Ruah has aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice, mocha, and a violet lift. The wine opens to darker notes of currant, dark cherry, wild herbs, tobacco leaf, and menthol. This bright, mid-bodied, and harmonious blend showcases energy and balance, with intense red and black fruit flavors and a creamy, rounded mid-palate. It’s a perfect combination of sweet and savory and finishes long with just a touch of wood spice.
Winemaking Notes
The 2018 growing season started slightly cool in the spring, but quickly gave way to warmer temperatures. Throughout summer, the days were warm and sunny, with little rainfall and above-average heat, providing ideal growing conditions. A slight cooling in September and October gave the grapes some extra time to develop more nuanced characteristics. This blend is composed of several lots that were fermented in a combination of stainless steel tanks and open-top bins, and was aged for 30 months in neutral oak and stainless steel.
Vineyard Notes
The Wahluke Slope AVA is located in south-central Washington and is considered one of the warmer regions in the state. Our 480-acre Desert Wind Vineyard is south-facing, with a gradual two percent slope ranging from 800 to 1,000 feet in elevation. The deep, rocky soil allows for excellent drainage, stressing the vines and allowing focused energy on fruit production. The resulting wines are highly pigmented and have excellent tannin structure.
Desert Wind is an immersive wine, food, and entertainment destination in the heart of Washington Wine Country, dedicated to producing world-class wines that celebrate our estate vineyards in the Wahluke Slope AVA. Our southwest-inspired estate is perched on a bluff overlooking the Yakima River in Prosser, Washington, and boasts a large tasting room, overnight accommodations, light kitchen fare, spa services, and ample private event space. Desert Wind’s legacy and acclaimed wines are rooted in family and our sun soaked Wahluke Slope AVA estate vineyard. Our philosophy on winemaking is simple: Start with grapes that show terrific potential and craft smooth, friendly, world-class wines you can drink every day. We’ve grown a lot since our first vines were planted in 1993, but one thing remains the same - our commitment to creating experiences that bring people together.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Interesting. I bought a three pack of their Sandstorm Series when previously offered. I haven’t tried any of them yet but quite the price point difference between that offer and this one.
@sammypedram You are so right about the price difference-The other Dessert Sandstorm offering was almost a year ago and I really enjoyed the wine-one aside why use bottles that are so impossibly heavy??
The wine arrived late Thanksgiving Eve (obligatory UPS ire). It was not going to replace Onesta at the Turkey table, so I saved it for The Game (obligatory loser ire). The result of The Game will not effect this review.
I am not familiar with this winery, but everything is estate grown fruit, which is impressive given the amount of varietals in this blend. Holy cow! What a list. The label doesn’t give any hints of what the wine will taste like. The bottle is substantial feeling and the label is classy with some flecks of gilding that shimmer in the light. I was curious if this is a field blend, but the write up indicates not.
Broke the Vinc+ cork, but ah-so to the rescue. Simply pouring the wine, intense dark fruits, tobacco, and leather jump from the glass. It is a deep ruby color, but still lighter than the aromas seem to indicate. Cedar, pencil shavings, damp earth, laurel leaf, tobacco, come forward obscuring the blue and black fruits.
First sip was intense. It has a juicy chewy bigness to it that is no surprise considering the intense aromas. It drop kicked my salivary glands. It feels like there is still some in my mouth after the finish. I don’t find this to be fruity in any way, but I did get a nice finish of red cherry among the aforementioned black fruits. There is a hint of vanilla. It is smooth and has a mouthfeel. At 13.9%, no noticeable alcohol upon first pour. I will revisit in a few hours with some food.
I wrote down some notes, but am running behind this morning. I will update later on, and I still have some left to try again. As always, thank you to WD, Alice, and Desert Wind for the opportunity.
@KNmeh7 Still waiting for things to settle down, but I forgot the TL;DR. This wine is excellent at the price point. I mean, you are supposed to be getting non-appellation California swill for that price. Happy to see the other rat’s opinions were, somewhat in line with mine.
It didn’t occur to me that when Alice said this would be Monday offer it was cyber monday. I feel this is absolutely a killer deal at the case price, and a great deal at lesser amounts. I think casemates did well with this offer. Personally, I think the decision was offer a flagship 80 dollar bottle from a known winery, at a discount, or just wow people with under 8 bucks for a bottle of estate fruit from WA? It was a good decision.
2018 Desert Wind Ruah
Good day everyone! I was surprised and pleased to get the Lab Rat email last week. Because the wine arrived the day before Thanksgiving, I decided to serve it on the big day and rope in my sister to get her thoughts too.
I did some quick research on the Desert Wind Winery, which had a previous offer for a different set of wines last year. https://casemates.com/forum/topics/desert-wind-sandstorm-series-mixed-reds Like those mixed reds, the 2018 Ruah is from the Wahluke Slope vineyard in Washington state, and per the specs it’s a blend of predominantly Merlot and Syrah, with a lot of other varietals thrown in.
Side note - I’d love to visit this winery and stay at their beautiful inn, which looks awesome.
This was probably not the ideal wine to serve with turkey, but that’s what was on the menu, so off we went. Beautiful label on the olive glass bottle and the cork came out clean. There was no sediment. The wine was a dark ruby, approaching purple. It’s a dry full-bodied red wine with medium acidity and tannins and a long finish.
On the initial pop and pour, the nose was muted. And it continued to be so throughout dinner. My sister felt the wine had a slightly harsh finish. My spouse thought it was hard to pin down the flavor profile and had another small glass, so he definitely liked it. I put the bottle away so we could try it again the next day.
On Friday, there was a big difference in the wine, so in retrospect I should have opened it earlier and possibly decanted it the day before. (Too busy making side dishes that day.)
We noticed long legs in the glass and the nose opened up quite a bit, with dark fruit, possibly blackberry, as well as cocoa, black olive and leather. We detected similar flavors on the palate, and tried it with some Manchego cheese and rosemary crackers, which made a great pairing as the creaminess of the cheese softened the tannins. It was just okay with our leftover turkey, prosciutto & brie sandwiches, but I wasn’t expecting that to be an ideal match.
I believe this wine would work well with heartier fare like barbecue or chili - it needs heavier food to really shine. This would be a nice wine to share with friends at a casual dinner or have at home on a weeknight with some pasta and the price point supports this.
Thanks Alice and Casemates for providing me another opportunity to try some wine!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2018 Desert Wind Ruah Red Blend - $30 = 25.00%
On January 14, 2022 Great Northwest Wine had this to say:
Rating: Double Platinum, 97 points. The Fries family, winners of 10 career Platinums, left behind one of the Northwest’s top value reds when they sold their Prosser winery and their Washington vineyards in 2020 to Columbia Valley growers Joshua Lawrence and Tom Merkle. It’s a wide-ranging eight-variety blend that’s primarily Merlot (40%) and Syrah (33%), but the roles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Carménère provide some elegance. The sweet nose of blackberry and vanilla bean gathers up notes of cured meat and sarsaparilla for a smooth and fun wine that’s made beautiful with lingering touches of cassis and pomegranate syrup. Awards: Sunset International (gold), Bellingham Northwest (double gold). Production: 5,000 cases.
And from Jared Grace (a senior studying viticulture and enology), in The Daily Evergreen, Washington State University. April 5, 2023:
The 2018 Desert Wind Ruah is a red blend from Washington state consisting of 40% Merlot, 33% Syrah and a spattering of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec varieties. With an ABV, or alcohol by volume, of 13.9%, this wine has a medium-high body and is moderately tannic, dry and acidic.
Opening with notes of sweet blackberry and vanilla, light pomegranate and cherry make a light in the dark. These light flavors bring a small amount of sweetness to the wine, making the oaky finish a savory and satisfying experience.
The mouthfeel of the wine is very tangible; it has a very thick texture, with a feeling of drippingly ripe fruit that has its own astringency. This wine also gives a very enticing spiciness that brings another level of character and flavor to the wine.
I paired this wine with two different gyros from Yia Yia Nikki’s: a Mediterranean pita and a falafel pita, with a side of Greek fries.
The Mediterranean pita contains gyro meat, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, feta, hummus and tahini sauce all on a pita. The falafel pita contains seasoned garbanzo beans formed into balls, deep-fried and grilled, accompanied by lettuce, tomato, onions, feta and tahini all in a pita.
Generally, I have found that white wines pair pretty well with these ingredients. However, these ingredients together create a more pronounced experience and pair well with the boldness of the red wine.
The fruity aromas of the wine were perfectly emulsified in the taste of the truffle oil and garlic of the Greek fries. The dryness of the feta in both the Greek fries and gyros paired perfectly with the spiciness, allowing both to shine without either being too overpowering or tinny.
To consume this wine at its best, I recommend opening it and putting it in the fridge 15 minutes before serving. This should chill the wine to about 60–65 degrees while also aerating the wine enough to release those flavors and aromas.
I really enjoyed the Desert Wind offering last year. I’m still finishing off that case. This sounds good and you can’t beat the price point on a case.
/giphy pretty-frozen-corsair
Rat’s pushed me across the line, in for a case feared-unruly-jackal
(side note, I thought of Wellington at the ‘Field Blend’ mention that KNmeh7 made “I was curious if this is a field blend, but the write up indicates not.”)
@PLSemenza I would love to say I could discern if it was a field blend or not by simply tasting it. I haven’t had that much experience to know co-fermentation versus their own barrels and subsequent blending.
This is still a really interesting blend and the price is crazy good.
@KNmeh7@PLSemenza I would think it would be difficult to truly discern if a wine is a field blend, if there was co fermenation, or if a blend was put together right before bottling . . .
@davidaplace the challenge is that ‘dry’ means different things to different folks. I know this sounds strange - but how do you drink your coffee? Do you enjoy it black or do you prefer it with some kind of creamer/non dairy creamer in it? And can you drink it black and enjoy it that way?
@klezman that is true, but the amount of residual sugar will be perceptible to sum, and not perceptible to Other based on our individual taste buds. That’s my point. If you drink your coffee, Black, in general, you were more sensitive to sweet things than somebody you put cream in them. Therefore, if a wine has a couple of grams of residual sugar in it, you will find it sweet whereas other folks will just find it fruity.
@davidaplace@tercerowines@klezman
Are we talking coffee! Let’s talk coffee. If only I were as versed in wine as I am in beans, I could be the best rat!
I drink my coffee black or with a touch of cream. Never sugar. I built around 5 different home roasting apparatuses before Behmor launched the first commercial home roaster, which I bought. I have had coffee from the galapogos islands (goes to conservation fund), Kopi Luwak, the gesha cultivar grown in central america, blah blah.
This wine would be a post-roast melange, like the blend indicates. There absolutely needs to be a darker roast component. If money were no object, let’s say 40% Yemeni Mocha City+ roast. I have always found that expensive coffee to yield the tobacco, leather, “cigar lounge” depth, and it has hidden fruit.
Lets fly over the Red Sea and get 10% floral Yirgacheffe. But not leave without stopping by Harrar (which, if I had to pick a 100% one to compare this wine to, it would be it) to add another 30% city+ roast.
Finally, 20% Guatemalan high altitude coffee. Doesn’t matter which appellation.
I’M interested in your home lacto-fermentation experiments. (I’ve tried pickling just about everything and the only thing I’ve consistently failed at is… wait for it… CUCUMBERS!!)
And based on your palate, which is VERY similar to mine, I’m grabbing a case.
@veevandyke I have successfully done cucumbers twice, mostly because the wildlife seems to eat most before I could try. Easiest and tastiest, in my white-ass heritage opinion, is sauerkraut.
It is cheap enough to mess up (I did once) but if you have a food processor to shred it, you just need the equipment. I do mine in quart Ball canning jars, with some lid I forget the name of the company but has the air-lock. Cheesecloth would work just the same. I also, stupidly, purchased glass weights to sit atop the requisite leaf of cabbage to keep it submerged. Those do not work. Use a sandwich bag filled with water instead.
Thankfully I have a good international market in town so I have successfully made kimchi, which is the same process but with different cabbage and more spices. Pickles are harder because they need longer because of their size to fully ferment, but if you put the right environment on it, you can ferment almost indefinitely. Kind of why the process became a thing in the first place. Ask me anything. I am no expert, but I have tried multiple recipes and techniques.
This sounds like a great QPR if you like rich reds. My benchmark still remains as the Sanctuary red blend offered here a few years ago which was a syrah heavy blend from Paso. Many don’t like the extracted big reds but every so often I love a wine that sits like a warm blanket.
Crazy prices. Sold. Do wish I could ship to KS, but there are advantages to living in one state and working in another.
/giphy misanthropic-measly-scene
Finally opened a bottle of this. Was hoping for more richness and balance but just feels like a cheap merlot to me. One of the rat notes mentions the harsh exit, which I pick up as a harsh vegetation, think about eating a bramble bush and that’s what I pick out.
2018 Desert Wind Ruah Proprietary Red Wine, Estate Grown, Wahluke Slope
94 Points, Gold Medal, Seattle Wine Awards
Tasting Notes
Winemaking Notes
Vineyard Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $348/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Dec 18 - Tuesday, Dec 19
2018 Desert Wine Ruah Red Blend
6 bottles for $59.99 $10/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $89.99 $7.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
@ilCesare Killer deal here.
8 varietals in this blend!
@TimW almost a kitchen sink blend
@TimW, but no Grenache. For that reason, I’m out.
To the vintner. Is it aged in neutral French or American oak? Thank you
@Leatherchair Hello! Lisa with Desert Wind here. The 2018 Ruah was aged 30 months in neutral French oak and stainless steel.
@WAwine thank you Lisa
Love the name with the multi language reference.
Interesting. I bought a three pack of their Sandstorm Series when previously offered. I haven’t tried any of them yet but quite the price point difference between that offer and this one.
@sammypedram You are so right about the price difference-The other Dessert Sandstorm offering was almost a year ago and I really enjoyed the wine-one aside why use bottles that are so impossibly heavy??
2018 Desert Wind “Ruah”
The wine arrived late Thanksgiving Eve (obligatory UPS ire). It was not going to replace Onesta at the Turkey table, so I saved it for The Game (obligatory loser ire). The result of The Game will not effect this review.
I am not familiar with this winery, but everything is estate grown fruit, which is impressive given the amount of varietals in this blend. Holy cow! What a list. The label doesn’t give any hints of what the wine will taste like. The bottle is substantial feeling and the label is classy with some flecks of gilding that shimmer in the light. I was curious if this is a field blend, but the write up indicates not.
Broke the Vinc+ cork, but ah-so to the rescue. Simply pouring the wine, intense dark fruits, tobacco, and leather jump from the glass. It is a deep ruby color, but still lighter than the aromas seem to indicate. Cedar, pencil shavings, damp earth, laurel leaf, tobacco, come forward obscuring the blue and black fruits.
First sip was intense. It has a juicy chewy bigness to it that is no surprise considering the intense aromas. It drop kicked my salivary glands. It feels like there is still some in my mouth after the finish. I don’t find this to be fruity in any way, but I did get a nice finish of red cherry among the aforementioned black fruits. There is a hint of vanilla. It is smooth and has a mouthfeel. At 13.9%, no noticeable alcohol upon first pour. I will revisit in a few hours with some food.
I wrote down some notes, but am running behind this morning. I will update later on, and I still have some left to try again. As always, thank you to WD, Alice, and Desert Wind for the opportunity.
@KNmeh7 Still waiting for things to settle down, but I forgot the TL;DR. This wine is excellent at the price point. I mean, you are supposed to be getting non-appellation California swill for that price. Happy to see the other rat’s opinions were, somewhat in line with mine.
It didn’t occur to me that when Alice said this would be Monday offer it was cyber monday. I feel this is absolutely a killer deal at the case price, and a great deal at lesser amounts. I think casemates did well with this offer. Personally, I think the decision was offer a flagship 80 dollar bottle from a known winery, at a discount, or just wow people with under 8 bucks for a bottle of estate fruit from WA? It was a good decision.
2018 Desert Wind Ruah
Good day everyone! I was surprised and pleased to get the Lab Rat email last week. Because the wine arrived the day before Thanksgiving, I decided to serve it on the big day and rope in my sister to get her thoughts too.
I did some quick research on the Desert Wind Winery, which had a previous offer for a different set of wines last year. https://casemates.com/forum/topics/desert-wind-sandstorm-series-mixed-reds Like those mixed reds, the 2018 Ruah is from the Wahluke Slope vineyard in Washington state, and per the specs it’s a blend of predominantly Merlot and Syrah, with a lot of other varietals thrown in.
Side note - I’d love to visit this winery and stay at their beautiful inn, which looks awesome.
This was probably not the ideal wine to serve with turkey, but that’s what was on the menu, so off we went. Beautiful label on the olive glass bottle and the cork came out clean. There was no sediment. The wine was a dark ruby, approaching purple. It’s a dry full-bodied red wine with medium acidity and tannins and a long finish.
On the initial pop and pour, the nose was muted. And it continued to be so throughout dinner. My sister felt the wine had a slightly harsh finish. My spouse thought it was hard to pin down the flavor profile and had another small glass, so he definitely liked it. I put the bottle away so we could try it again the next day.
On Friday, there was a big difference in the wine, so in retrospect I should have opened it earlier and possibly decanted it the day before. (Too busy making side dishes that day.)
We noticed long legs in the glass and the nose opened up quite a bit, with dark fruit, possibly blackberry, as well as cocoa, black olive and leather. We detected similar flavors on the palate, and tried it with some Manchego cheese and rosemary crackers, which made a great pairing as the creaminess of the cheese softened the tannins. It was just okay with our leftover turkey, prosciutto & brie sandwiches, but I wasn’t expecting that to be an ideal match.
I believe this wine would work well with heartier fare like barbecue or chili - it needs heavier food to really shine. This would be a nice wine to share with friends at a casual dinner or have at home on a weeknight with some pasta and the price point supports this.
Thanks Alice and Casemates for providing me another opportunity to try some wine!
PANS! GLANDS! CRAYONS! AWESOME!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2018 Desert Wind Ruah Red Blend - $30 = 25.00%
/giphy monstrous-bony-bait
On January 14, 2022 Great Northwest Wine had this to say:
Rating: Double Platinum, 97 points. The Fries family, winners of 10 career Platinums, left behind one of the Northwest’s top value reds when they sold their Prosser winery and their Washington vineyards in 2020 to Columbia Valley growers Joshua Lawrence and Tom Merkle. It’s a wide-ranging eight-variety blend that’s primarily Merlot (40%) and Syrah (33%), but the roles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Carménère provide some elegance. The sweet nose of blackberry and vanilla bean gathers up notes of cured meat and sarsaparilla for a smooth and fun wine that’s made beautiful with lingering touches of cassis and pomegranate syrup. Awards: Sunset International (gold), Bellingham Northwest (double gold). Production: 5,000 cases.
And from Jared Grace (a senior studying viticulture and enology), in The Daily Evergreen, Washington State University. April 5, 2023:
The 2018 Desert Wind Ruah is a red blend from Washington state consisting of 40% Merlot, 33% Syrah and a spattering of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec varieties. With an ABV, or alcohol by volume, of 13.9%, this wine has a medium-high body and is moderately tannic, dry and acidic.
Opening with notes of sweet blackberry and vanilla, light pomegranate and cherry make a light in the dark. These light flavors bring a small amount of sweetness to the wine, making the oaky finish a savory and satisfying experience.
The mouthfeel of the wine is very tangible; it has a very thick texture, with a feeling of drippingly ripe fruit that has its own astringency. This wine also gives a very enticing spiciness that brings another level of character and flavor to the wine.
I paired this wine with two different gyros from Yia Yia Nikki’s: a Mediterranean pita and a falafel pita, with a side of Greek fries.
The Mediterranean pita contains gyro meat, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, feta, hummus and tahini sauce all on a pita. The falafel pita contains seasoned garbanzo beans formed into balls, deep-fried and grilled, accompanied by lettuce, tomato, onions, feta and tahini all in a pita.
Generally, I have found that white wines pair pretty well with these ingredients. However, these ingredients together create a more pronounced experience and pair well with the boldness of the red wine.
The fruity aromas of the wine were perfectly emulsified in the taste of the truffle oil and garlic of the Greek fries. The dryness of the feta in both the Greek fries and gyros paired perfectly with the spiciness, allowing both to shine without either being too overpowering or tinny.
To consume this wine at its best, I recommend opening it and putting it in the fridge 15 minutes before serving. This should chill the wine to about 60–65 degrees while also aerating the wine enough to release those flavors and aromas.
This was indeed a $25 winery release…
fwiw
.
@kaolis I love the details about the meal from Yia Yia Nikki’s.
@InFrom sounds like tasty bites
I really enjoyed the Desert Wind offering last year. I’m still finishing off that case. This sounds good and you can’t beat the price point on a case.
/giphy pretty-frozen-corsair
@gemeinschaft79 i’m just glad they didn’t put “Dessert” in the title by mistake like before!
A lot of folks shy away from that
@ttboy23
A whole case of 750ml bottles of dessert wine is probably too much dessert wine.
@gemeinschaft79 @ttboy23 yes, but they put in “Wine” and not “Wind”!
@irenegade @ttboy23
@gemeinschaft79 @irenegade @ttboy23 Is that because it is described as dry?
@irenegade ohhhhhh, good eye!
Musical pairing:
Phoenix - Alpha Zulu Pretend they are singing Ru-Ah and it has at least as much going on as this wine does.
Rat’s pushed me across the line, in for a case
feared-unruly-jackal
@PLSemenza I would love to say I could discern if it was a field blend or not by simply tasting it. I haven’t had that much experience to know co-fermentation versus their own barrels and subsequent blending.
This is still a really interesting blend and the price is crazy good.
@KNmeh7 @PLSemenza I would think it would be difficult to truly discern if a wine is a field blend, if there was co fermenation, or if a blend was put together right before bottling . . .
This looks like one I would normally jump on, but overflowing storage overrules.
Willing to go in on 6 bottles, if anyone in SD area is down.
Love seeing the love for WA wines …
Residual Sugar? Please answer soon.
@davidaplace I am surprised the winery has not chimed in, but this is dry. FWIW. I hope they comment.
@davidaplace the challenge is that ‘dry’ means different things to different folks. I know this sounds strange - but how do you drink your coffee? Do you enjoy it black or do you prefer it with some kind of creamer/non dairy creamer in it? And can you drink it black and enjoy it that way?
@tercerowines perception, yes, but chemistry is objective.
@klezman that is true, but the amount of residual sugar will be perceptible to sum, and not perceptible to Other based on our individual taste buds. That’s my point. If you drink your coffee, Black, in general, you were more sensitive to sweet things than somebody you put cream in them. Therefore, if a wine has a couple of grams of residual sugar in it, you will find it sweet whereas other folks will just find it fruity.
@davidaplace @tercerowines @klezman
Are we talking coffee! Let’s talk coffee. If only I were as versed in wine as I am in beans, I could be the best rat!
I drink my coffee black or with a touch of cream. Never sugar. I built around 5 different home roasting apparatuses before Behmor launched the first commercial home roaster, which I bought. I have had coffee from the galapogos islands (goes to conservation fund), Kopi Luwak, the gesha cultivar grown in central america, blah blah.
This wine would be a post-roast melange, like the blend indicates. There absolutely needs to be a darker roast component. If money were no object, let’s say 40% Yemeni Mocha City+ roast. I have always found that expensive coffee to yield the tobacco, leather, “cigar lounge” depth, and it has hidden fruit.
Lets fly over the Red Sea and get 10% floral Yirgacheffe. But not leave without stopping by Harrar (which, if I had to pick a 100% one to compare this wine to, it would be it) to add another 30% city+ roast.
Finally, 20% Guatemalan high altitude coffee. Doesn’t matter which appellation.
@davidaplace @klezman @KNmeh7 so based on that, I’m gonna guess a few things and you can tell me if I’m off base or not:
If you drink Scotch or Whiskey, you prefer them neat
You probably prefer savory foods over sweet - and with sweets, you probably prefer dark over milk chocolate
You probably really like Brussels sprouts (unless you have an aversion from childhood) and you can probably enjoy them raw
You probably enjoy pickled things.
How did I do?
@tercerowines Man, you do therapy or cold readings on top if winemaking? Jack of all trades.
You get an A+. Thanks for playing along, and if that helps anyone on the fence of a really good wine for really cheap, that is my palate.
@KNmeh7
I’M interested in your home lacto-fermentation experiments.
(I’ve tried pickling just about everything and the only thing I’ve consistently failed at is… wait for it… CUCUMBERS!!)
And based on your palate, which is VERY similar to mine, I’m grabbing a case.
@veevandyke I have successfully done cucumbers twice, mostly because the wildlife seems to eat most before I could try. Easiest and tastiest, in my white-ass heritage opinion, is sauerkraut.
It is cheap enough to mess up (I did once) but if you have a food processor to shred it, you just need the equipment. I do mine in quart Ball canning jars, with some lid I forget the name of the company but has the air-lock. Cheesecloth would work just the same. I also, stupidly, purchased glass weights to sit atop the requisite leaf of cabbage to keep it submerged. Those do not work. Use a sandwich bag filled with water instead.
Thankfully I have a good international market in town so I have successfully made kimchi, which is the same process but with different cabbage and more spices. Pickles are harder because they need longer because of their size to fully ferment, but if you put the right environment on it, you can ferment almost indefinitely. Kind of why the process became a thing in the first place. Ask me anything. I am no expert, but I have tried multiple recipes and techniques.
@KNmeh7 thank you!
This sounds like a great QPR if you like rich reds. My benchmark still remains as the Sanctuary red blend offered here a few years ago which was a syrah heavy blend from Paso. Many don’t like the extracted big reds but every so often I love a wine that sits like a warm blanket.
@deadlyapp “Sanctuary red blend”…Delicious. I have just 1(or 2?) of those left and will be sad when it’s gone, if sad is even the right word
Crazy prices. Sold. Do wish I could ship to KS, but there are advantages to living in one state and working in another.
/giphy misanthropic-measly-scene
Is it midnight yet?
@tercerowines Do you reside in England?
@tercerowines I will be buying whatever you are selling.
Finally opened a bottle of this. Was hoping for more richness and balance but just feels like a cheap merlot to me. One of the rat notes mentions the harsh exit, which I pick up as a harsh vegetation, think about eating a bramble bush and that’s what I pick out.
Oh well, at least it was cheap.