09/02/09 – three red grapes living together in one bottle
No matter what your televisual preferences might be, I’m sure we can all agree that Three’s Company wouldn’t have been any good if there weren’t three of them. “Two’s company” is the old saying, but that wouldn’t have made much of a show. And forget about one… that’s the loneliest number. No, it seems quite clear that in order to have any really good hi-jinks, shenanigans, or ballyhoo, you need at least three of whatever you’re dealing with.
It’s in that inclusive spirit that we introduce the theme of this week’s meeting: red wines featuring three or more varietals in them. We tried a similar theme last October, but I guess people were too distracted by some election or other to come out and drink with us, because attendance was uncharacteristically low. If you missed the last round, now’s your shot at redemption.
Several regions around the world are particularly good bets for three-red blends. France’s Rhône Valley serves up “GSM” blends featuring Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre (plus Cinsaut, and Carignan, and a bunch of grapes I can’t pronounce), while certain bottles of Bordeaux may include quanties of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenere… ask your friendly wine merhant for help with the French bottles, as they often won’t list the grape breakdown on the label. Australia is once again a good bet, as they’ll blend basically anything together down there, while California offers up Meritage — basically a Cali-style blend of three or more Bordeaux grapes — as well as a good amount of domestic Rhône-style “GSM” blends, like the ones we tried at Rhone Rangers. Also, California producers sometimes get funky with things like Zinfandel, Tempranillo and Sangiovese. Or maybe you can find a manic cocktail from some other part of the world. Huge props go to the bearer of the wackiest blend!
We’ll be meeting at Jason’s place in Brentwood. The RSVP system functions like this: if you want in, you click on this link and tell me so (don’t forget your full name, e-mail address, and a cute message conveying to me your intentions). If you’re denied entry due to a meeting exceeding capacity, don’t worry — you’ll be at the top of the list the next week.
Once you’ve gotten your confirmation e-mail, go out and find yourself a bottle of “Three’s Company” red (or bring a $10 donation, if you prefer). See you Wednesday night—