How about cab franc, eh?

Wine: Stoney Ridge 2006 Twenty Mile Bench Reserve Wismer Vineyard Cabernet Franc

Paired with: DVR'd episode of "Three Sheets"

Comments: You know how certain things influence you to want something? You go to the movies, and the smell of popcorn makes you crave it, even though you know there's not really anything resembling popcorn or butter in that salty, goopy mess. Well, we were watching "Three Sheets," which is a show where a vaguely obnoxious guy travels around the world and drinks whatever that country's famous for producing. He was in Italy. He was drinking a Super Tuscan. (We simultaneously hate this guy & covet his job.) So we had to have wine.

Not having any Super Tuscans in our collection -- although, we wouldn't turn one down -- we went trolling for an alternate big red wine and settled on the Stoney Ridge Cab Franc. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of Cab Franc - I find the green bell pepper flavors overpowering in too many of them. But this one's an exception, not being equipped with a green pepper that smacks you in the face, crawls up your nose and takes over your brain. Instead, it's equipped with great fruity balanced flavors and, for me, just enough tannins to give it good body. I know we tasted it when we bought it, but I was still surprised by how much I liked it once we opened it.

With this wine being a 2006, there were still plenty of tannins left in the wine, so if  you like having those to chew on (yes, it can really feel like like you have something to chew, even though wine is liquid), it's absolutely a wine to drink now. The winery recommends cellaring it for up to 8 years, so I wish we had another couple of bottles to put down and try later on in another few years. Sadly, we didn't make Stoney Ridge on our recent Niagara trip, so we'll have to hope they still have some when we go back.

Tasting Notes - pre-food: The most prominent aromas are cherries and tobacco. As befits a Cab Franc, this is a big wine with lots of red fruit flavors - think cherries, strawberries, plums, blackberries.

Tasting Notes - with food: No food. We decided, after dinner, that we really wanted a glass of wine.

Color: Deep ruby red

Price: About $17 (Canadian)

Verdict: Friday, but requires food to be truly enjoyed thanks to the tannins remaining in the wine.