Feints Mendocino County Cuvee Zero 2015 by Ruth Lewandowski Wines seems a little too light to be a red and a little too dark to be a rose. It is a light garnet color. But none of that matters? It is delicious.
I smelled strawberries and raspberries, took a second whiff and thought "cherries." There are tannins through this from first sip to finish as it comes right out of the bottle. The air brings these down fast. I don't know if this is a matter of the wine's basic 'lightness'. Does that mean tannins get subsumed faster by air?? I am not a chemist. Have a glass right out of the bottle, then another after 10-15 minutes and then give it a little more time. It evolves and it gives you different looks at the wine. It changes with little increments of time. It is just clever and complex but all that is just bullshit next it being a fun drinking experience. There are by the way still tannins on the finish even after tons of air.
It is a zippy, acidic, fun drinking wine. Had a glass with no food and it was all good. I paired it with some pasta with light red sauce (white wine in very light tomato w veggies). Where I was there was no can opener so NO red sauce but wine, asparagus tomatoes, soy sauce basil pasta and it worked. It is such a versatile, drinkable food friendly wine I want a case. This is fun wine. This is interesting wine. And if they break the "rules"? Who cares. It is a complicated but crowd pleasing wine.
I didn't want to think about this and there is no reason for you TO think about it. Just drink it. These are wines crafted for the regular but still discerning wine drinker.. They are not meant for fancy lovers of Bordeaux or 200 dollar bottles of northern Cali cabernets. This bottle costs between 20 and 25 bucks and is worth every penny.
Another interesting thing here is the grapes used. This wine is made from dolcetto, barbera and arneis. It sounds like it should be from Northern Italy but it is, in fact, from two places; the grapes are from Mendocino County, California and the wine is made in Utah. Two red grapes and a white, used together with carbonic maceration (at least that is how I read it) is unusual. You can read more HERE.