Winter in Northern Michigan has officially arrived, and with that, most of us find ourselves hunkering down in our homes to shelter away from the bitter cold and falling snow. What better way to warm up and enjoy this chilly season than with a glass (or 3) of red wine! Luckily, we at Black Star Farms have an abundance of red wines to choose from with flavor profiles that can satisfy any palate. Here are just a few of our reds that we think would be a wonderful addition to your holiday festivities, great gift ideas for red wine lovers, or perhaps just to warm up your winter blues.
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First on the list is the Black Star Farms, Artisan Red. We love this wine for its bright, fruity characteristics. Aged in steel, this semi-sweet red is a unique blend of French-American hybrid grapes. A solid stand-alone sipper, the soft and supple tannins make it easy on the palate. This wine is bursting with red fruit flavors like ripe strawberries and raspberries, making it a fantastic base for sangria! The sweetness of this wine makes it a great pairing to something with a little spice; think hearty foods like jambalaya, chili, or spicy beef stew.
Looking for a drier red blend? The Red House Red is a staple among the Black Star Farms team. Are you a fan of spaghetti? How about pizza? This medium-bodied, dry wine makes a stellar partner to any tomato-based dish with notes of tart raspberry and juicy blackberry. Our house red is everything you might expect from a great table red. An easy-drinker, this wine pleases a variety of red wine lovers. Aged in neutral French oak and newer American and Hungarian oak barrels, the red fruit notes are nicely punctuated with spice and vanilla.
Next on the list is the 2017 Arcturos Pinot Noir. A medium-bodied dry red wine, this Pinot Noir drinks with balanced acidity and tannin structure. Notes of dark cherry and all-spice, this versatile red can be paired with various meals from holiday ham, beef tenderloin, or cedar-planked salmon. The barrel program used for this bottling is 100% French oak, with most being older and a small percentage of new. With Pinot Noir being a more delicate grape, we take a lighter approach to barrel aging, not to mask or overpower the fruit.
Another list-maker is our newest red release, the 2017 Arcturos Merlot. We’ve closed the curtain on our 2016 vintage, and 2017 is now taking the spotlight. In this bottle, you will find darker fruit flavors like blackberry and plum, laced with hints of dark cocoa and subtle spices like clove and cardamom. This Merlot showcases elegant characteristics best produced by our cooler growing conditions, akin to the cooler regions of France. We recommend lamb chops, pork loin, or any beef dish with lots of herbs and spices with this silky-textured wine.
Last but certainly not least, we are closing out our list with the 2017 Isidor’s Choice Terrace Red. What makes this wine so special is its unique blend of grapes. All of the fruit sourced for this wine comes from a single vineyard in Leelanau County, Isidor’s Choice Vineyard, making it one of the few single-vineyard wines we produce. This wine is a combination of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, both well-known varieties, along with Teroldego and Lagrein, which are two Italian varieties not commonly found in the states. As a result, the wine is deeply pigmented, with intense fruit characteristics of plum, mulberry, and fig. Aged for approximately 24 months in a combination of new and neutral French and American oak, this is one of the bigger and bolder red wines we currently offer. If you are in search of spice and earthy qualities, look no further. This heavy red snaps awake on the palate with flavors of freshly cracked black pepper, giving way to leather and tobacco notes. We recommend letting this wine age, and our winemakers advised it will age well for up to 10 years. If you wish to drink it soon, the Terrace Red will be enjoyed best after decanting or being allowed to breathe for an hour or more.
Offering free shipping on purchases or six or more bottles, no coupon code is needed.
