Orleans Hill and the Frey Red Wine Review

Not that I’m that huge an expert on good wine but holy malolactic fermentation!  Orleans Hill Cote Zero 2007 ($10) has some serious “learning disabilities” (as Miles would say).

I was a sucker for their cool label and organic upbringing.  I tell ya it’s not the best tasting wine I’ve had.  Kinda causes a pucker and you can almost feel your throat rebelling the the liquid from being consumed.  After pouring a glass and allowing some air time the taste resembles that of a perfume mixed with a lot of alcohol.  Spanky aftertaste and quite bitter.

I also ask the google what is a “Cote Zero”.  Possibly a wine sister version of the Coke Zero?  Not quite, apparently it consists of 50% Syrah and 50% Grenage.  Next question what is Grenage?  Couldn’t really get to the bottom of that one which makes me not trust this wine.

This winery set in California also produces Our Daily Red ($10) which I’m not crazy about either….also organic.  I’m having a hard time finishing my glass of Cote Zero and that rarely happens.  I see cooking in this wines future.

I did however find the Natural Red from Frey Vineyards ($11) to be a great “home from work pour”.  It goes down easy and has a very mild but fruity taste.  The Frey states their sulfites are “naturally occurring”.  Sulfites are the preservatives found in wine and occassionally arrest the fermentation (turning grape juice into alcohol)  if desired.  It is hard to come by a wine that claims to be “sulfite free” like our Cote Zero.  Maybe that’s why it taste like the inside of a garbage can.