Finca del Rey - Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon

Cell phone photography

I found this bottle in my wine rack after my parents were house sitting for me over Easter, but it took until June for me to take a chance on an unknown kid. You see, my parents' taste in wine sits at two opposite poles: while my mother is fond of Oyster Bay Chardonnay ($18), my father follows a more lose philosophy of "Is it under $10? I'll take it!" However, they've been living in the Okanagan Valley for some time now, and have no doubt learned a thing or two.

Clearly, I was surprised and delighted by this bottle, or I wouldn't be telling you about it. But when I tried to find it on the BC Liquor Store website and was denied, I became fearful that it might not be an affordable bottle. Another surprise: at Everything Wine, they've got it for $12! Of course, the label looks different, but this just seems to be an attempt at a more playful packaging to match their cheap and cheerful price point.

There are so many amazing private liquor stores in and around Vancouver these days, it likely won't be too hard to track down another Finca del Rey Tempranillo-Cabernet Sauvignon somewhere close to home. And with notes of berries, cedar, and tobacco, it'll go perfectly with that steak you're planning to throw on the grill this weekend. That's right folks: reds in the summer. I know that in the rest of the world summer weather gets hotter than 22 degrees Celsius, and that that can turn opening a nice bottle of red a big mistake (one summer: Montreal, hot red wine. The worst), but down here by the ocean, there's nothing to worry about.

Cheers!