There are plenty of people who make a lot of money and then decide they would like to own a winery or make wine. Lil John is now making wine in California, Antonio Banderas owns a winery in Spain, Jay-Z launched a Blanc de Blanc champaign, etc. Sometimes it is even a business decision; a brand can become so large that all you have to do is stick the name on a label and slap that label on a bottle of wine and it will fly out the door.
Or at least that is the hope of the makers of the Sopranos' wines. The brand was launched back in September of 2008 (ah the good old days). About a month or so ago, I was sent a few bottles and I am embarrassed at how long it took me to open them up. I got around to popping the corks this past weekend and I was not disappointed.
Nope, not disappointed at all. The wines were as lacking in flavor and typicity as I could have wished. My expectations were that the wine was being sold on its namesake instead of the juice inside, and I feel as if I were right on the money. The Pinot Grigio smelled nice, lots of citrus and grapefruit with a little minerality. However the taste was so off I had to look back at the label to make sure I was not drinking a California Chardonnay. It said made in Friuli. Then I tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Sangiovese blend. Not bad, but certainly not exciting. There was nothing in the taste that I could point to and say "yup, that's a fruit."
Does that make this wine something to be avoided? Not if you are doing a Sopranos marathon party...
15 hours ago
