Apothic Red, Tarima Monastrell and Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel

While we do try to expand our wine palettes by trying new wines as often as we can...

it's impossible not to have a favorite.

We do a lot of our wine shopping at Total Wine & More in McLean, VA, because the prices are fantastic here. Besides, where else can you go into a wine store with a legit shopping cart, fill it with a couple cases of wine, a boxed wine or two, some cider and a couple six packs of beer for good measure and NOT be judged?? No where else, that's right. 

I don't know about you guys, but I am easily swayed by how the label looks on wines. I realize that this is superbly unclassy, but hey, I'm a consumer. It's my job to be swayed by silly things like bright, shiny labels. For a while, one bottle in particular caught my eye when I was walking around wine stores, Apothic Red. 

Apothic Red 2007

Something about that calligraphy work on the bottle that appealed to me, but I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to spend $16 on a bottle wine I would potentially hate. Luckily, this is where Total Wine & More comes in to save the day! Apothic Red is nine buckeroonies there. Cha-Ching!! That I can handle.

According to it's website, Apothic Red is a "captivating blend of three distinct grapes, with the dark fruit flavors of Syrah, brambly spice of Zinfandel, and a smooth elegance of Merlot". I am a fan of spicy, deep red wines that don't make your tongue shrivel up too much (Random fact: I always determine whether or not a wine is dry by how much my tongue feels like it's shrinking). 

This wine really does the trick for me. It is a very easy drinking wine that can go well with dinner or just as a glass while watching a movie (or while doing homework...yeehaw). I am now obsessed with it. So much, in fact, that I actually e-mailed the company to ask when they were coming out with magnum bottles. They aren't, by the way. I guess I have been branded a lush now. This wine is technically sold in my market downstairs, but I really cannot get over how expensive the wine is in Maryland compared to Virginia. $16 verus $9 is just criminal. Sometimes it goes down to $14 but I still think that's unreasonable. Alas, I shall just have to wait till my next wine binge in VA to get my next batch of Apothic. 

Ian's recent find is Tarima Monastrell, a wine that is made with 100% Monastrell grapes. Given 87 points by the Wine Advocate, Ian described this wine as the "Big Brother" of Apothic Red. They have similar dark, fruity flavors, but Tarima Monastrell is bolder and has a heavier feel on the tongue.

Outside of bottled wines, I have also been trying to track down a decent boxed wine, as I have recently started to discover how wasteful my habits are (hundreds of shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes, salad dressing bottles, soda cans etc) and want to give eco-friendly alternatives a shot. Boxed wine no longer has to mean Franzia (oh, to be in college again). I am determined to find good tasting boxed wines and give them their due respect!

One recent wine we've tried and liked with surprising gusto is the BOTA Box Old Vine Zinfandel. This wine is actually really good straight from the box. We usually aerate our wines, but I find I can pour this bad boy straight into a glass and take some healthy, revitalizing sips without issue. At $16 a box (equal to four 750 mL bottles), it is definitely a bargain wine. Our local market sells the Bota Box lines for about $25...so again, we go to Total Wine & More for this purchase.

We will have a glass of this while cooking, use it with the cooking, and then a glass for dinner. It works during all steps. For those that want to try good ol' American wine, give Zinfandel a shot and try out Bota Box Old Vine.