I’ve found the organic wine section of the supermarket to be a reasonably good place to buy budget wines. There is no evidence organic wine tastes better than wine made from conventionally-grown grapes but I’ve found these organic producers (here, here, and here) to be on the whole reliable. This wine, however, is an exception.
The nose shows bright red fruit but it has the raw, yeasty aroma of cheap wine. The palate hints at being juicy but is diluted with a bitter finish and almost no tannin. Oddly it seems low in acidity as well. It’s light enough to play well with a variety of foods. It won’t ruin dinner but it is exceedingly ordinary. The name “Cote Zero” is a play on Cote du Rhone and zero sulfites.
It’s vegan too so there’s that.
Score: 81
Price: $10
Alc: 12.5%
You really can make a wine taste better by finding a piece of music that matches its mood. This lovely, light hearted track from Angelique Kidjo keeps your attention on the juice and not the bitter.
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 