Wine review by Catherine Buboltz

Photo by Colleen Harrison

Beverage: GSM 744

Type: Red wine blend

Maker: Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery

One of my all-time favorite red wines is produced by a local vineyard, Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery in Spring Valley. My husband and I have visited Four Daughters on several occasions and I always enjoy sampling the new wines. My taste tends to lean toward fairly dry red wines and interesting wine blends.

This past summer after a weekend of biking with some friends in Decorah, Iowa, my husband, Bruce, and I stopped at Four Daughters Vineyard with our friends. We wanted to enjoy lunch in the warm sun on their beautiful patio, overlooking the vineyard.

I purchased a wine tasting, which is a random sampling of their wines. GSM 744 happened to be one of the wines in the tasting.

I was taken with this wine the moment it passed my lips. I do not tend to gravitate toward fruity wines, but GSM 744 is a wonderful, light blend of fruitiness with a full-bodied oak flavor to it.

Interestingly enough, 744 refers to the number of barrels of each wine that went into the final blend. It was seven barrels of Grenache, four of Syrah and four of Mourvedre. The Grenach provides the fruit, the Syrah provides the tannin and the Mourvedre provides the length and finish.

Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content.

Syrah, not to be confused with Petite Sirah, is touted as Australia’s spicy, big-hitting red wine.  Why the confusion between Shiraz and Syrah?  It’s the same grape!  In France it is known and grown as Syrah, and responsible for some of the Northern Rhone’s big, bold red wines.  However, in Australia and South Africa it goes by Shiraz.

Mouvedre can be a difficult grape to grow, preferring “its face in the hot sun and its feet in the water.”  The vines produce intensely flavored fruit  that is not overly jammy or herbaceous.  The wines often has wild game and/or earthy notes to them, with soft red fruit flavors.

It is well worth a trip to Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery in Spring Valley to sample this and many of their other fine wines and incredibly creative cuisine. However, if you are pressed for time, several varieties of Four Daughters wines, including the GSM 744, are also available for purchase at Cheers Liquor in Albert Lea. Cheers!