With all the fun that was had with the first edition of TWELVE DOLLAR BOTTLE (which is where a group of everyday folks who know average amounts of stuff about wine, but are not experts, give a quick little informal review of a bottle of wine that costs $12 or less!) we decided to do another one while we were on a mini Donahoo vacation in Houston last weekend!
The cast of reviewers this time is 2/3 different from last time’s cast, so allow me to introduce you to our four new ones!
Brother Farmer
This would be my brother-in-law and Price’s younger brother Jesse! Jess is a strapping, fun-loving young man who spends his days out on the farm where he listens to talk radio while getting business on the combine taken care of! His trusty sidekick is one of our dog Ringo’s best buddies, Piper! Piper is super sweet and looooves her daddy! (And her mama, Triple M!)
Triple M
Triple M is Jesse’s wife, my sis-in-law, Mary Margaret McPherson Donahoo! MMM is a smart, beautiful gal who is in a super cool management training program at a bank here in Jackson! She works hard during the week and one of the ways she likes to relax is by getting Mexican (we are kindred food spirits!), among many other things! Marge, as I sometimes like to call her, is the daughter of a seasoned wino, so she actually knows a pretty good bit more than the rest of us on the topic!
The Newbie
Amber is the newbie in the family! Of our cousin group, she’s the most recent addition, as she married Price and Jesse’s first cousin Andrew just a couple of months ago! Amber has set up a super cute home in Houston, where they moved shortly after they got married, and has her degree in teaching! One of the many reasons I love Amber is because she chose glitter to be thrown at the end of their wedding rather than flower petals or birdseed, and I’m a huge fan of glitter! So we see eye-to-eye on all things sparkly. Physically, though, I’m almost a full foot taller than her… š
The Energetic Cousin
The aforementioned cousin Andrew is married to Amber and is actually more like a brother to Price and Jesse than a cousin! He works at an energy company in Houston and, much like his wife, is a great tour guide in such a HUGE city! He likes The Sopranos, golfing, and swimming among other things. Also, he bears a strinking resemblance to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The Legal Counsel (Price) and The Paper Girl (me) remain the same as last time.
The bottle the six of us are reviewing is The Dreaming Tree Crush Red Wine.Ā
This is our [edited] conversation about this wine:
Brother Farmer: Letās go! Cheers!
Triple M: Ching Ching!
Energetic Cousin: Wowā¦ Wow, that is delicious!
Brother Farmer: I like that. Itās smooth.
Girls in unision: Itās really lightā¦ Itās lightā¦ Itās super lightā¦
Paper Girl: It doesnāt have any overwhelming potency.
Legal Counsel: It is very smooth. Iād definitely describe it as smooth.
Paper Girl: You could easily drink too much of that on accidentā¦ It goes down like grape juice!
Newbie: You canāt even tell itās wine at all.
Brother Farmer: Smell it. If you smell it… It doesnāt smell very strong at all…
Newbie: It has a light aftertaste, too.
Triple M: Itās a good, strong taste, but leaves a light aftertaste, which is good.
Newbie:Ā Itās a good aftertaste which is sort of hard to find. Some aftertastes are really strong. Some are really bitter and this is super smooth.
Brother Farmer: Itās clean! Itās a real clean taste.
Legal Counsel: It tastes Pine Sol clean. Itās like Iām drinking pine sol right now.
Paper Girl: Itās hard to believe Dave Matthews came up with thisā¦ I never like things he comes up with…
(Quick fact share: Neither Price nor I like Dave Matthews’ music. That was actually one of the reasons we knew we made a good couple from the get go! We’re like the only two in the world who don’t love his style… and we love that about each other!)
Energetic Cousin: I donāt he actually came up with it. I think they were just like, āHey, Dave. Give us a million dollars and weāll put your name on the label.ā
Legal Counsel:Ā I’m sure that’s exactly how it happened, Andrew…
Newbie: You canāt beat it for the price. Itās really tasty and super smooth. Itās not peppery at all though, Laurel. Donāt you like peppery wine?
Paper Girl: No, itās not. I do like pepper in my wine! But I can appreciate the smooth simplicity of this.
Newbie: Itās good for someone new to red. We have friends who donāt like red wine, so weāre trying to slowly get them to liking it, and this is a good transition one.
Energetic Cousin: This is an excellent wine,
Paper Girl: Closing thoughts, anyone?
Newbie: I think this is good to have on hand for people who donāt drink red but want to learn to like it.
Brother Farmer: Itās a clean taste.
Triple M:Ā Ok, we get it Jesse! We understand that you think it tastes clean…
Energetic Cousin: Itās amost like a Pinot Noir. It tastes like one, anyway.
Paper Girl: The label just says red wine. Anyway, whatever it is, itās really good and easy to drink!
Brother Farmer:Ā So why are we doing this review, again?
(and scene!)
In a nutshell, this wine is clean (almost like Pine Sol), light, not peppery, made by Dave Matthews’ winery (not Dave himself), is very smooth and easy to drink, and has a pleasant aftertaste. It’s good for a red wine beginner, but if you like heavier reds, this is probably not for you!
Winery:Ā The Dreaming Tree
Type:Ā Crush Red Wine (I guess?)
Region:Ā North Coast, California
Year:Ā 2011
Cost:Ā $10.99 – $11.99
Hope you enjoyed the second edition of TWELVE DOLLAR BOTTLE! Can’t wait to bring you the third in the near future! Should be good times!