Jacob’s Creek Wine

‘Moscato is much too sweet for me,’ I often hear and say myself. When the anticipated Jacob’s Creek Reserve Coonawawa 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon arrived, accompanied by a Jacobs Creek Moscato, I dutifully put the white in my wine fridge. I assumed that I would pull it out at some point this summer- probably a BBQ where after a few nice bottles, I put out most of the wines I don’t care for (sorry friends…).

Luckily, there were a few recipes that came with the Moscato that urged me to use this wine as a cocktail ingredient as opposed to a stand-alone beverage. Guess what- I now LOVE this Moscato! My favourite recipe was the ‘Winter Warmer,’ which included pomegranate juice, honey and lemon. Although it can be served warm, I chose to drink mine cold- on ice. Regardless of the ice, this drink made me feel warm and tingly- Fantastic! Recipe is below.

My husband and I were excited to try to Jacob’s Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 from Coonawawa in Australia. Right off the bat, this red smelled heavier than most Cabernet Sauvignon, cassis, mint and blackberry…(and maybe even cloves but I’m not sure…) hitting us with gusto. My husband furrowed his brow. ‘Well I’m not sure how I feel about the smell,’ he muttered. Although the smell of cassis is also not my favourite, it does have a time and a place in red wine. I was eager to taste and I urged him to do the same.

This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes as it smells. There were additional flavours- oak, black cherry, black licorices, maybe vanilla- but mostly, it stayed true to the initial impression. This red is medium bodied, lingering moderately on your tongue, with a slightly bitter after taste. Regardless of my favourite flavours, let me assure you that this is a well-made, well-balanced wine.

I invited one of my girlfriends to try the wine but didn’t tell her anything about it- I wanted a straight up, unbiased opinion.

While I enjoyed this wine, she REALLY enjoyed this wine and that is the beauty of being individual human beings with our own subjective tastes. For example, I know that while I enjoy a Pinot Noir, she is rarely satisfied with less than a Cabernet or even a Syrah. Will I buy it again? I don’t know. I’m not sure that off all the Jacob Creek varietals, this is my favourite. Will I bring it as a hostess gift for my red loving friends? Most definitely.

In the meantime, however, I am sipping my Winter Warm Up in my leopard print PJs from the comfort of my newly renovated basement-(more on that another day).

Jacob’s Creek Moscato is available at the LCBO for $11.45 and Jacob’s Creek Reserve Coonawawa 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is available at the LCBO for $16.95

The Winter Warm Up (Courtesy of Jacob’s Creek)

1 bottle of Jacob’s Creek Moscato

1 cup pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon of honey

Lemon, for garnish

Combine Jacob’s Creek Moscato, pomegranate juice in a pitcher. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Divide among 6 ice-filled glasses. Garnish with slices of lemon.

Can be served warm.

Serves 6 friends…(or one blogger, one husband and two wine drinking friends)

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