Cupcake Red Velvet 2009

By CHRIS and SHERRY HARDIE

Cupcake wines are part of the Underdog Wine and Spirits company, which runs several wine labels including A Mano, Big House and Fish Eye.
All of them fall under winemaker Adam Richardson, who sources grapes and oversees the production.

This red blend features zinfandel (47 percent), merlot (29 percent), cabernet sauvignon (19 percent) and petite sirah (5 percent).

Each varietal is fermented separately, blended and oak-aged. The result is a wine that keeps your nose and tongue busy trying to work through the layers of aroma and taste. It's semi-sweet with dark fruit and chocolate flavors but is very smooth.

Sherry: "Fruity black cherry and raspberry with licorice notes on the finish." 3 stars
Chris: "Molasses notes with flavors of raspberry and strawberry. Almost a bit too sweet for a red." 2-1/2 stars

Available locally for $10.

Coming next week: D'Arrigo Riesling