Sheila & Bennet Bodenstein
The names keep getting wilder and the labels more gaudy. It seems that comic strip names and labels are currently “in.” The latest addition to the name menagerie, and we say menagerie because most of the new names have an animal someplace in them, is Three Blind Moose. We are not sure if they are trying to appeal to children or the child within each of us. Since the product in question is wine we do not believe that they are after children with that label.
To carry the pun to even further extremes, the makers add the legend, “UnMooseTakably Good Wine” to the label. Since it is wine etiquette and in good taste to display the label of the wine when you are serving it, we do most certainly believe that the three Arch Duchesses and the faux Prince that you are pouring the wine for would be offended and probably insulted.
In days of old, when a dollar bought twenty-five cents worth of merchandise, wine makers strived to produce the most sophisticated and expensive looking labels possible in the vain attempt to allude that the wine in the bottle was much better than its $1.98 price tag. That worked! Now you get birds, fish, emus, wombats and moose. It almost breaks the heart.
Now that we have had some fun with the name, we can tell you that despite the name, the wines inside the Moose bottles are pretty good. To begin with, these wines are made by the winemaking super giant, Canandaigua. Secondly, the grapes are sourced from California’s Central Coast, an area which is famous for fruity, very typical, California style wines. As is the usual case with Canandaigua wines, these wines are very affordable; in the case of Three Blind Moose,” it is $9.99.
Three Blind Moose 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon ($9.99). This is a soft, easy to drink cabernet sauvignon that needs no time to age away any rough edges, because there are none. This wine has an upfront berry-like flavor that showcases ; aromas and flavors of dark berry, plum, chocolate, clove and spice with a hint of dark raisins in the background. There is a decent finish to this wine which is rare enough for wines selling for this low a price. Here is the ideal wine for those grilled Philadelphia steak sandwiches that have become popular at back yard barbeques not to mention any really red meat.
Three Blind Moose 2003 Merlot ($9.99). Merlot has become one of America's favorite red wines and the Three Blind Moose 2003 Merlot could well illustrate why. Although 2003 started out to be a poor vintage, the weather cleared up enough to produce some very good grapes, most specifically in the Central Coast region. This vintage has plenty of cherry/berry flavor and aroma, a well as an earthy element in the background that adds depth and complexity. Unlike many other wines in this price category, this merlot has a moderately long finish and like the cabernet sauvignon, it can accompany a large spectrum of grilled foods up to and including fish
Three Blind Moose 2004 Chardonnay ($9.99). Ok, here we get into one of our personal pet peeves; lousy chardonnays. There are so many bad chardonnay wines out in the market place that the number is almost astronomical. Somebody told the winemakers that the more oaky the chardonnay, the better and that is the way they have been making them; loaded with wood. If we want wood, we simply suck on toothpicks. One of the great California winemakers, Louis Martini, put it very simply: “If you can smell oak; if you can taste oak, it’s too much oak.” There is no worry about over oaking with the Three Blind Moose 2004 Chardonnay. While there is some oak used, the winemakers have not over done it. This wine is a typical Californian, a bright lemon-yellow color which heralds citrus and tropical fruit aromas, subtle oak and butter tones, a rich, round palate with fresh tropical fruit flavors and hints of butter cream, oak then ending with, of all things, baked bread. A nice, east to drink, affordable chardonnay.
