Continuing my series of Cheap Fun Wines , let’s talk Flirt, a relative newcomer to the low-cost wine scene. Flirt was just released about a year ago, and is another California red blend featuring 70% Syrah, 17% Tempranillo and 13% Zinfandel. My wife and I picked this up on a whim, because we’re a fan of red blends, and the label looked fun.
Like many wine lovers, we have more expensive “top shelf” bottles we keep for the right food and company, and a few go-to bottles that we always pick up for everyday drinking. Our everyday bottles are ones I have previously reviewed (Menage a Trois, Hot To Trot, and Apothic Red, to name a few.) We’re always looking for comparable wines to add to our “go-to” list, but haven’t found anything consistently good in the $10 price range; until now.
Flirt has delicious flavors of warm, juicy red plum, baked cherry pie, and traces of vanilla and butterscotch. It’s smooth without being overly sweet, thanks to oak aging and, according to the winemaker, “a precise blend of quality Mendocino County fruit…responsible for the additional layers of complexity and rich flavor.”
If you want a wine for a party, book club or just something fun with friends, Flirt is very approachable, ripe, and nicely priced at about $10.95.
I have gotten a few emails recently from people asking me why I only seem to review red blends. My answer is because I like them, but more importantly because red blends are the fastest growing segment of the wine market, increasing more than 50% in the last 52 weeks alone. They’re generally easy-drinking, smooth and supple wines that aren’t overly sweet, and are reasonably priced (around $10 a bottle.) That is the very definition of Cheap Fun Wines!
Red blends can be drunk with or without food. They’re ready to drink now, just don’t expect a long finish, and are a nice introduction for someone transitioning from sweeter white wines to more complex reds. If that sounds like you, Flirt is a great place to start.
—Brian
