2009 Lost Weekend STB

Ok, get your minds out of the gutter, the wine is an STB, for Super Tuscan Blend, even though it's from California.  I got three bottles of this wine last week, thanks to a thoughtful wine gift certificate from my friends Carter and Kellyn (thanks guys!).  Now I decided on this wine because of course I like Tuscan blends, but also for the story behind this wine.  Apparently, "The Lost Weekend Saloon" was a hangout of forward thinking members of the coastal mountain community of Bonny Doon, Calif. since the early 1900s, but now it's the tasting room for Beauregard Vineyards, which produces this wine.

Now I will certainly give kudos straight off for the natural cork and the painted label on the bottle, very cool indeed, but we all know it's what's inside the bottle that counts!  Well inside this one is a blend of Sangiovese (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (16%) and Durif (aka Petite Sirah, 4%).  As I uncorked a bottle, I was greeted with the aroma of a nice Italian red wine, with strong aromas of sweet fruit, plum, cherry and blackberry.  I poured a glass, and the color is lighter, very typical of the wines of Tuscany, and after letting the wine breathe a bit in the glass, the nose revealed less sweet fruit, and more spice, leather and earthy aromas.  The taste is quite fruit forward, with hints of cherry and ripe strawberry, but the finish is somewhat unremarkable.

This wine is a medium bodied blend, so if you are looking for a big, bold California cab like wine, you'll be disappointed, but it's a nice wine for what it is, somewhat fruity with a smooth finish that is unlikely to overpower the dish that it's paired with.  In fact, tonight I am taking a different approach and having this wine with some Indian curry, as I think the fruit will really complement the spice and earthy richness of the curry.  Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7, it's a very nice everyday blend that I probably never would have encountered without the help of an online Christmas gift, and it is encouraging all the more that we are producing such nice Sangiovese blends domestically!  So if you find yourself in Santa Cruz with an extra $20 burning a hole in your pocket, pick up a bottle and have a picnic along the coast, or if you're like the rest of us snowbound in the middle of the country, considering ordering a bottle or two off the web!