Brotherhood Winery was founded
by John Jaques, with a first commercial vintage 1839. (see previous post) And while their winery and tasting room are located in Washingtonville, NY and thus in the Hudson Valley, the grapes for this particular wine were grown right in my back yard on Long Island.

Any time I see that, I worry a bit. In my experience, most of the best grapes (particularly Merlot) stay on Long Island. There are exceptions I’m sure, but I digress.

I popped the cork on this bottle to enjoy with Nena’s spiced chicken black bean soup because I remembered a black peppery spice hint when we tasted this in Brotherhood’s tasting room.

Eyes: Medium ruby red

Nose: Not overly aromatic, it has a somewhat simple nose of sweet cherries

Tongue: Simple, rather fruity and gulpable with slight black pepper character (less than I remembered) and just a little oak influence. It’s medium-bodied and low in tannin.

Price: $15

Lenn’s Grade: C+/C
Nena’s Grade: B-

Comments: This wine falls into the category of "red wine" for me. I use that term to describe any of a number of red wines that don’t really have anything interesting going on — no complexity, no uniqueness, no depth or character. I can’t say that it’s a good value at $15 because you can find much better merlot in that price range.