In the month of February besides writing about birthdays and Valentine’s Day, I will now also get to write about the monthly wine selections from Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  I think even more important to picking up the wines for the month, I guess it also gives me a reason to stop by and do some wine tasting, as if I really need a reason.

The first wine that I picked up was Cosentino Winery “The Dark” Red Wine 2016 from Lodi, California.  I think the first wine that I ever had from this winery was “The Poet” one of the earliest Meritage style wines from Napa Valley as it was first released in 1989 from a winery that began in 1980.  In 1990 they began “The Zin” which begat other “The” wines showcasing their wines from Lodi, California and their current winemaker is from a family that has been growing grapes in Lodi for over a century.  This particular wine “The Dark” is a proprietary blend of Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon that has enjoyed the benefit of aging for twelve months in French Oak.  According to the tasting notes this is a dark glass of wine the nose that favors dark fruits, and the taste of the fruit blended with pepper and vanilla to deliver a big chewy wine.  A big wine that should pair well with Braised Short Ribs or a big Roast.

The second wine was Domaine Laroque Cabernet Franc, IGP Cite de Carcassonne 2017.  The IGP classification replaced the old Vin de Pays to make France align to the other members of the Common Market.   The IGP Cite de Carcassonne is a large area in the Languedoc region and encompasses eighteen communes and allows all three colors of wines.  The average age of the vines for this wine is twenty-five years, and this area has been producing wines from the Sixth Century.  The soil in this area is clay and limestone and hillside vineyards.  The wine is a very pretty red and very easy to drink, as I just had this wine with a dinner that I wrote about and we enjoyed especially for the price, and it really opened up after the second glass.  My Bride was very happy when I showed her this wine.