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Wine Details
Price:
$8.99 per bottle
Description:
This favorite, fruity, slightly sweet blush wine is made of a blend of 100% Colorado Grown Riesling, Seyval, Muscat, Chardonel, and Merlot grapes. It is easy to enjoy by itself or accompanying fowl, fish, or cheese, and is best served chilled. More flavorful than White Zinfandel. Prairie Dog Blush is the largest selling Colorado Grown Blush Wine.
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Varietal Definition
Chardonel:
Chardonel was developed in New York State, to be a late-ripening, highly-productive, cold-climate varietal. A cross of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc, Chardonel is proving its value in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states. Given much of the same treatment as Chardonnay, it adapts well to barrel fermention, and controlled lees contact. The result is often a full-bodied dry wine, high in alcohol and acidity, with a similar, if less pronounced character than Chardonnay.
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Merlot:
Merlot is known as a Noble Bordeaux varietal. Although it came to France in the first century, it was not named until the 1880s. Merlot was originally used only for blending, as it is soft and compliant, very useful in softening other Bordeaux wines like Cabernets. Recently in California and Chile it became popular as a 100% varietal wine. Merlot tends to be easier to grow in a variety of soil conditions and is harvested earlier in the year than Cabernet. Although most Merlots are made to be drunk earlier, there are many with complexities of a Cabernet. Flavors of plum, black cherry, violet, chocolate and orange pair well with rich, red pasta dishes, hearty chicken dishes, and any beef combination that you fancy. The perfect match of course is chocolate. Not only does the chocolate compliment the wine and vice-versa, but the essence of both flavors linger eternally.
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Muscat:
Muscat, thought to be one of the oldest grape varieties, is grown worldwide. It is vinified in a multitude of styles, from still to sparkling, and dry to sweet to fortified. Also called Moscato, Moscatel and Muskateller, it is a sweetly aromatic, fruity grape that has many genetic variations and colors. It probably originated in Greece but maybe the independent sultanate of Muscat in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula had something to do with it. Over 200 different varieties and derivatives to the Muscat family exist today. Muscat Canelli, Orange Muscat and Black Muscat are varieties most planted in California, which makes primarily still wine. More unusual is Muscat fermented to total dryness, which leaves greater alcohol levels and no residual sugar. Some Muscats are aged in oak to provide additional complexity.Today’s recommended Muscats represent many of these styles, so use the tasting notes and percent of residual sugar - listed if provided by the winery - to find a wine you’ll enjoy. The more sugar and the lower the alcohol, the sweeter the wine, though wines above 10 percent alcohol can also be somewhat sweet.
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Riesling:
On the sweeter end of the spectrum, some of the best dessert wines should give thanks to the Riesling varietal. Riesling is known for its complementary nature of combining balanced acidity with sugar. Rieslings are made dry to sweet, but it is the sweet style Riesling that brought about its popularity in the United States. With the rise of spicy sauces, marinades and dips to flavor our meal, Riesling plays a part in taking off the edge of the heat. Riesling is known for a number of signature characteristics: floral, citrus and pear. Riesling has peaked in California with 11,000 acres planted. Today, Monterey County’s cool-climate areas and its long growing season produce good amounts of character for the Riesling grape. Outside of
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Zinfandel:
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in the 'heel' of Italy. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Its taste depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County. Many Zinfandels come from head pruned ‘Old Vines’. ‘Old Vine’ is generally understood to mean a vine that is more than 50 years old and that produces less than three tons per acre. ‘Head Pruning’ is an old European style of pruning that trains the vine into the shape of a goblet. It requires no wires or other complex trellis systems. Head pruning spreads the fruit uniformly along the vine and allows light penetration.In the USA a semi-sweet Rosé (blush-style) wine called ‘White Zinfandel’ has achieved widespread popularity. In fact, this popularity has so outstripped all other forms that many fans think there is actually a grape called “White Zinfandel” (there isn’t)!
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