Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Wine:Dog Tail Vineyards NV Fire Hydrant Red  (California)

Dog Tail Vineyards

NV Fire Hydrant Red
(California)



Dog Tail Vineyards is the latest endeavor of the Kautz family, whose flagship operation is Ironstone Vineyards in Calaveras County. With this new brand the family decided to pay homage to the many family dogs that roam the vineyards, chasing squirrels and digging holes.

The Dog Tail wines are inexpensive, colorfully labeled and sell for between $8 and $12. While some wines are from single varietals and are vintage dated, this is one of the non-vintage blends. This entertainingly named wine is finished with a twist-off screw cap and is geared towards existing wine drinkers looking for a fun wine, as well as towards those who might be turned off to formal labels and all the hoopla. It is daringly named – the connection between dog and fire hydrant might be off-putting to some folks.

Bright, lightly saturated ruby, and viscous, the wine has notes of plum, prune, blackberry preserves, vanilla, mocha, spice, stewed meat, bay leaf, wintergreen, and maple syrup. It is clean, medium bodied, rustic, and flavorful, like the inexpensive, food-friendly, quaffable, non-hangover producing wines one finds everywhere in Buenos Aires or Naples, Italy.

Reviewed January 17, 2007 by Catherine Fallis.




Other reviewed wines from Dog Tail Vineyards

 

The Wine

Winery: Dog Tail Vineyards
Vintage: NV
Wine: Fire Hydrant Red
Appellation: California
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon (92%), Cabernet Franc (6%), Souzao (2%)
Price: 750ml $8.99

Review Date: 1/17/2007

The Reviewer

Catherine Fallis

Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth.