I am intending to post every other day at 5PM, since it typically takes me two days to go through a bottle of wine by myself. If it turns out I am fortunate enough to have help, I may post more frequently. I remember a day when I would drink an entire bottle of wine in an evening and think nothing of it. But as years pass, the tolerance we have for some vices changes, but also our relationship with those vices changes, where we just don't need or want them in the same way. I think it is almost more accurate to say I don't want to drink an entire bottle of wine in an evening; it really doesn't sound fun. Whereas once I thought of it as an accomplishment, I now think of it more as a warning sign.
Anyway, all that fanfare for this. My first review here is not exactly returning with a bang, though I do have more tastiness scheduled later. I probably should have doubled up for my return and at least brought you a drinkable suggestion, but instead, here is more of a cautionary tale:
Don't.
This wine isn't the worst I've had for the price. We found it at Costco and it was less than $10. I found nothing spectacular hiding in these flavors. They were muted and blended to the point of having no distinctive characteristics, like mixing the wrong colors together. But do remember that wine is always subjective--one person's art, you know... If you are a fan of cheap wine-flavored wine, then you'll like this. It had a sweetness to it that made it drinkable, but I would say just get Menage--it's a way better wine and serves the same purpose as the 3rd or 4th bottle.
If this is your first time reading, I feel I should explain that last sentence a bit. In a given evening of wine drinking, I structure the presentation, the way they do for tastings, But I do so in reverse order of complexity. I typically start with the best (according to me), and gradually move toward something less nuanced. Partially because unlike a tasting, people are out and out drinking the wines, not just tasting, and it is easy to be distracted with good conversation. And it is easy for one's taste buds to get shot over an evening. A sip of even an exceptional wine may occur absently. So I start with something good, and by the 3rd of 4th bottle when people are just drinking to drink, I pull out the cheap stuff--anything that is good enough to enjoy, but not the subject of the conversation. By then, we are leaping from subject to subject anyway. The consensus among my friends is "If I have good wine, I'd like to remember it" so we start with the best when palettes are freshest.
Cameron Hughes does have many good wines. Though from what I am able to glean from their website, they appear to source wines from all over the world, receiving them three ways: in grape-form which they start wine-ifying from scratch; barreled wine which they then age, blend and bottle; or wine fully bottled and ready to distribute, where all they have to do is slap their label on it. These come from a variety of sources all over the world, and therefore they don't actually grow their own grapes.
Bottom line (because there is always a bottom line): Skip it. Don't be lured in by the pretty metallic teal on the label. It is a lie.
Don't.
This wine isn't the worst I've had for the price. We found it at Costco and it was less than $10. I found nothing spectacular hiding in these flavors. They were muted and blended to the point of having no distinctive characteristics, like mixing the wrong colors together. But do remember that wine is always subjective--one person's art, you know... If you are a fan of cheap wine-flavored wine, then you'll like this. It had a sweetness to it that made it drinkable, but I would say just get Menage--it's a way better wine and serves the same purpose as the 3rd or 4th bottle.
If this is your first time reading, I feel I should explain that last sentence a bit. In a given evening of wine drinking, I structure the presentation, the way they do for tastings, But I do so in reverse order of complexity. I typically start with the best (according to me), and gradually move toward something less nuanced. Partially because unlike a tasting, people are out and out drinking the wines, not just tasting, and it is easy to be distracted with good conversation. And it is easy for one's taste buds to get shot over an evening. A sip of even an exceptional wine may occur absently. So I start with something good, and by the 3rd of 4th bottle when people are just drinking to drink, I pull out the cheap stuff--anything that is good enough to enjoy, but not the subject of the conversation. By then, we are leaping from subject to subject anyway. The consensus among my friends is "If I have good wine, I'd like to remember it" so we start with the best when palettes are freshest.
Cameron Hughes does have many good wines. Though from what I am able to glean from their website, they appear to source wines from all over the world, receiving them three ways: in grape-form which they start wine-ifying from scratch; barreled wine which they then age, blend and bottle; or wine fully bottled and ready to distribute, where all they have to do is slap their label on it. These come from a variety of sources all over the world, and therefore they don't actually grow their own grapes.
Bottom line (because there is always a bottom line): Skip it. Don't be lured in by the pretty metallic teal on the label. It is a lie.
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