Good Cheap Wine Guide

Inglenook California Classic Burgundy

Rating: OK TO COOK WITH

During my “Dennis the Menace”-like childhood I served a stint as an altar boy.  I don’t remember being asked or actually volunteering, but just the same…I wound up serving.  I have very strong memories of putting on the hassock and preparing everything for the mass.  I recall the smoky issue of the candles, the strong intensity of the incense and…the very distinctive smell that came from the altar wine. 

This is all in the days of Latin mass and priests only drinking the wine during the service.  (I did enjoy serving at mass, especially funeral masses that were mid-day and got me out of class.  I know…that’s a strange way to look at the world.)  As a server, it was our job to prepare the water and wine vessels and carry them in procession out to the altar at the start of the mass.  (One priest always would start our procession with, “Tally Ho!” )  As a half-asleep 9 year old serving 6 AM mass, I always found the vinegary smell of the altar wine a little rough to take.  (Remember, kids already throw up a lot in church. )   During the service we would mix the wine and water into the Chalice for the priest to drink as part of the mass ritual.  Some priests would only want a drip of the wine into the Chalice and have almost all water.  (They were usually the strict ones.)  Some priests could have used a portion control device.  Like amateur bartenders, we had no idea how much to pour until directed by Father’s fingertips tipping the vessels with us.  Pouring that wine into the large bowled Chalice of course released all of it’s screwtop elegant aroma.  Yuck.

Why do I remember all of this?  (And maybe why do I bore you with it as well?)  A while back we bought the Inglenook Classic Burgundy at WalMart for a recipe.  My wife made a great Beef Burgundy that has become like comfort food in our house.  I’ll post it later.  Seeing the bottle in the cabinet I thought, “Hey WineOaf!  Here is a cheap wine that you would be good to add to your Quests and review!”  So I did.

What Others Say: Inglenook California Classic Burgundy
Winemaker’s comments: A blend of cherry, black currant and green olive flavors make this red a real crowd-pleaser.

What I Thought:I poured a glass of the Inglenook.  My nose took me back to being 9 years old and swinging incense on a chain.  I was that altar boy all over again.  Suffice to say that the Inglenook California Classic Burgundy is intended to be a good cheap wine and was probably never intended for medal competition.  A tart taste, unbalanced and no finish meant that this wine needs the strong support of a great recipe, other ingredients for homemade sangria or a spiritual ritual to be useful to society.  But hey, those are all important right.  So my vote, cook with it, make sangria, or serve it to your local priest.   It probably is a crowd pleaser, as long as that crowd kneels together with bowed heads.

Cheers from the Wine Oaf