When the leaves fall from the trees, my thoughts turn to red wine. In a desultory way. I am a confirmed white wine drinker, but were I ever to play for the other team, I’d go to bat for this one. The Long-Suffering Husband brought back a couple of bottles from a visit to lovely Portland, Oregon. Now I wish he had ordered a case.
2009 August Cellars Baco Noir
The color is deep purple, the aroma is velvety, and the flavor is rich fruit, mellow and complex. A touch of leather, and a lip-smacking long finish. Both the Lond-Suffering Husband and I thought that this one tastes like a cross between a Pinot Noir and a Cab. At $20, it’s a bargain.
I had never heard of Baco Noir before, but it is a hybrid of the grape traditionally used to make cognac, and an indigenous North American grape. Unusual, and delicious! I served it with one of my “traditional” meat analogue meals.
roasted butternut squash, sautéed rapini with garlic, and Gardein meatless meatloaf with gravy. Yummy and vegan 🙂
Linnet Moss 
Darn… now I want wine! About to have lunch in a vegetarian restaurant…
Oooh, I hope you’re taking pictures!
I didn’t… but it was yummy 🙂
Have never heard of that grape variety either but like the idea of a Pinot/cab tasting wine.
Yes, I am used to thinking of the native grape varieties as terrible for wine (they are not even vitis vinifera, but other species). This one has really challenged my preconceptions about that.
That meatless stuff looks so meatlike! 🙂 And the wine sounds really good too! I usually switch to red in winter so this is well-timed!
Yes, the meat analogues are pretty good these days. It took a long time, but there must be enough of a market now to make it profitable.
Reds are usually too heavy for me, but I am looking forward to my Beaujolais Nouveau for Thanksgiving 🙂
Oh yes! I remember the excitement over that when I lived in France! 🙂
When did your husband bring back that wine? We had it a couple of years ago, and absolutely loved it, but after talking to the winemaker, I thought he didn’t think they were going to keep making it in future years. They don’t own the vineyard and weren’t sure they would be able to get those grapes again. Which would be a total bummer!
He brought it back just a couple of weeks ago. I’d like to order a case from them. Especially if there’s not much left!
When the leaves fall from the trees, my thoughts turn to red wine
Lovely 🙂
Many thanks, and cheers!