For some girls Fantasy Football drafts are the dreaded enemy of the Fall season. For this girl, it is a great excuse to select a great Pinot Noir and a couple of good running backs and wide receivers. Men have their beer and their silly team names. I like to bring a bit of class to the situation. I have my Pinot Noir and my silly team name.
For this wonderful draft day, I selected a lesser known libation: Cellar 8 Pinot Noir 2008. Straight from the Asti Winery in California (the same geniuses that bring us Foster’s beer), this garnet colored wine was light, but with a tiny spicy bite at the end. In all honesty, in my first sip I thought, “This tastes just like a jelly sandwich…and I like it.” To clear things up, that’s strawberry jelly, not grape.
Although I should’ve been full from the hints of jelly the wine was giving off, I opted to sit in front of the laptop with my ESPN loving fiancé and homemade jambalaya and draft my team while enjoying the little punch this sweet wine was packing. The food/wine combination was amazing. This wine pairs so well with fish. Part syrah, part petite syrah with a bit of cabernet, this wine is 100% refreshing and goes down smooth. It’s great for night on the couch or an evening of conversation with friends. It can be purchased online from the winery for $10 or if you are lucky you can snag a bottle at a local grocery store for $8.99.
For those not interested in Fantasy Football and who may just be in the market for an easy-to-drink wine, Cellar 8 is it. Perhaps it was the wine or maybe a stroke of genius but my is arguably the best drafted one in my league. If my name is on that trophy in February I will thank Reggie Wayne, Chris Johnson and Cellar 8 Pinot Noir.