Perfect Company

What should my first blog on wine universe be about? The answer turned out to be easier that I thought. I will blog with a different mindset, let high inspiration go and the ambition to write a jewel blog every time. I will be what I call more "experiential" and less literary. 

Imaginative but impractical thoughts aside, let us get to the business of wine.

Ménage à Trois California Red Wine 2010

The Winery

Initially I thought the suggestive name Ménage à Trois was an unhappy marketing effort. Not so! It resonates well with the winery’s name. This wine is vinted and bottle by the Folie à deux winery; the French expression meaning "a madness shared by two" or collective psychosis. According to Wikipedia, Folie à Deux was founded in 1981 by two psychiatrists, who took the name from a psychiatric term for a fantasy or delusion shared by two people. In 2004 they sold the winery to the Trinchero Family Estates, a Napa Valley wine company owned and operated by the Trinchero family. Trinchero Family Estates was named American Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine in December 2009. The wine comes from grapes growing in Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley. For the winery website go to http://www.folieadeux.com/visit-us.php

Under the Ménage à Trois label the winery bottles several three-grape blends: California Red, California White, Chardonnay, Rosé, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The expression “vinted and bottled”, according to winetaster.com, means the same as "made and bottled by.” For more info on these wines go to http://www.menageatroiswines.com.

The Wine

The California Red wine featured here is a blend of three grape varieties: Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. Hence the name Ménage à trois of this product line. Here are the details:

Prices go from $7.99-12.99. Suggested $18.99

Alcohol content: 13.40% v/v

Bottle volume: 750ml (fifth)

Napa Cellars tasting room:

7481 St. Helena Highway
Oakville, CA 94562

GPS Coordinates: (Long.)122.401742 , (Lat.)38.4356068

Producer's Tasting Notes

"Our 2010 Ménage à Trois exposes the fresh, ripe, jam like fruit that is the calling card of California wine. Forward, silky and soft, this delicious dalliance makes the perfect accompaniment for grilled meats or chicken."

Tasting Notes

"This bottle is well priced, goes in smoothly, not very complex, bright and fruity with scents of cherries and other red fruits. If you enjoy drinking reds on the sweet side, this is your kind of red wine. A very delicious and enjoyable wine!"

Folie à Deux

Appearance

The bottle is slender at the bottom and wider at the shoulders giving it a "barrel-chest" look. The bottle shape, satin dark red foil, and label design give it a conservative and formal look. The front and back label design is simple and elegant with monochrome burlesque dancers embossed in deep red at the top.