... , are threaded with briers and brambles, polished tannins and dusty granite, and sweet, spiced plums. The wine slides through your mouth like plush velvet woven with iron filings. This is a blend, with three percent each carignane and petite sirah grapes. Winemaker David Ready Jr. calls the “Liar’s Dice” ‘07 “our most passionate wine.” It could use less emotion ...

... Thu, Nov 12, 2009 (midnight) Photo: Beverly Poppe Party like it’s 1846 with my very favorite kind of kiss. A fortified blend of Barbera and Carignane wines, herbs, spices and peels, Dubonnet Aperitif Wine had its humble beginnings as a way of making quinine more palatable for soldiers battling malaria in North ...

... red meant to be enjoyed with food. One of Stags' Leap Winery's signature wines, this Napa Valley Petite Syrah also blends small amounts of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignane, Peloursin and Viognier. Framboise, wild lavender and dusty cocoa notes create an alluring bouquet, while the wine's palate comes across like a decadent dessert. Flavors of black coffee, dark ...

... highlight was a Skype video interview with Carl Sutton of Sutton Cellars. I have been a fan of his wines for some time and have previously posted reviews of his Rattlesnake Rose, Carignane, and Syrah. Sutton Cellars is a small, artisanal winery in California and their low production wines are absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced. Carl was very down-to-earth and passionate about his ...

... called Sherman & Hooker's Shebang ($16). It's what the farmers used to call "mixed blacks," which is a blend of all the dark grapes on a vineyard including Zin, Carignane, and Syrah. It takes its inspiration from Preston's jug wine that they sell only on Sundays -- and Morgan's dad is Joel Peterson who started Ravenswood, so he knows a thing or two about blending ...

... it: it involves ground beef, onions, carrot, spices, maybe a little garlic. What's Bechamel, John asked -- John had come to dinner and to spend the night. Flour, milk, butter, Lindsey said. Basics, I thought to myself; three nouns. The dictionary of sufficient cuisine could be a very slim volume. Green salad, of course. Vanilla ice cream and applesauce.Carignane, L. Preston (Dry Creek), 2007

... -friendly, exactly what a Cotes du Rhone should be. (Importer: Jeff Wilburn Selections/Wine Agencies Inc.) 2006 Jade Mountain La Provencale California Red Wine ($10): A blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignane and Viognier from a pioneering California Rhone name, now controlled by Diageo. Packed with purple fruit, plus a rich oak overtone and dry-herb accents. Well assembled and gutsy, with a dark, ...