Winey Tasting Notes: You Had Me At The Label: SomeWines

If you even think about sipping on wine, I am sure you have seen these new offerings from SomeWine. You can’t miss them, because their labels are designed by the the very funny folks at Someecards – the ones we all pin and share on Pinterest. And send to our other Winey Friends on Facebook.

At first sighting, I grabbed a bottle. Because I do that. I am not above buying a wine for the label and this was a no-brainer for me. The only thing that made me hesitate for a nanosecond was the fact that I saw the Chardonnay first, and the label didn’t TRULY apply to me, The Winey Hubby and I being empty-nesters and all. But then I remembered that we have two dogs under the age of 3 and I gave up on the thought of hesitating.

Or your dogs.

So let’s talk about the SomeWine Chardonnay (2013, 13.2%, CA) first, shall we? It has a nose that’s full of yellow apples and honeysuckle. The taste is creamy and smooth and starts off with a flavor of light-colored oak, a thin line of honey in the middle and ends up with some mellow caramel. It finishes off with vanilla cream and caramel. Can you just feel all that smoothness and rich flavor in your mouth right now? Good. Because this was such a yummy, classic Chardonnay. It retailed for $12 in my area of Ohio. If you like your Chardonnay oaky and creamy, this is one for you.

Yup.

Moving on (to a different store actually – I kind of feel like these wines were following me around just begging to be purchased) to the Red Blend (2012, 13.1%, CA). Once again, I chose it for the label. Because who doesn’t want to pair wine with more wine? (If you answer, “Me” to that question I would seriously rethink your pairing priorities.) The cost was the same (this IS Ohio after all and there are no bargains to be had on wine…) The nose starts with mocha java – chocolate and coffee – one of my favorite aromas. You’ll taste flavors of coffee, thyme, cassis and a hint of cherry syrup. I must warn you to let this breathe first – if you don’t you’ll get an annoying tinge of spearmint to the flavors, and although I have nothing against spearmint in and of itself, it does not fit in with the other flavors. So, a little air, and you have a pretty darn good red blend, especially given the cool label. If you like your reds herby and full, grab this label, er, bottle.

I know, right?

The other varietal in this series is the Pinot Noir, and I can promise you I’ll be trying that one. The wines are actually produced by the 1026 Beverage Company, two buddies with a long history in the wine-making industry, so they know what they’re doing. Especially when it comes to those labels.

Cheers!