Church & State Lost Inhibitions Red: A Bordeaux Blend with a Side of Sass

Photo credit: me

I've been meaning to write about this wine for about a year now, but better late than never I suppose.  The Lost Inhibitions red blend from Church & State has without a doubt become my go-to bottle these days. I know this because I stopped by the BC Liquor Store the other day just as they were closing and I had to make a split second decision, this was the bottle I ran to. If that isn't a sign of commitment, I don't know what is.

Now normally I would tell you to steer clear of wines with cutesy labels—if they're trying that hard to get you to buy the bottle, there's usually a reason—but this might be an exception to the rule. My hunch is that these sassy labels were a seasonal endeavour that became so popular, the winery decided to stick with it. I don't know this for certain, but I swear I started to notice these bottles with their multicoloured messages around the 2016 holiday season and they're still on shelves today.

Church and State is a unique operation with vineyards in the Okanagan Valley and in Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island. Since I'm in the Okanagan every summer, it's more likely I'll one day have the pleasure of visiting their Oliver tasting room, but I must say, the Island location (just 15 minutes from Victoria) looks amazing. Not only do they have a vineyard and tasting room, but there's also a bistro and event space. After this summer's epic wine odyssey wherein my father was determined to drive my friend and me to every winery on the list his friend gave him—damned if we needed to rest or rehydrate—I'm increasingly pleased when I visit a new winery that serves more than a palate-cleansing cracker.

Friends-giving 2017

This particular offering from Church and State is part of the Lost Inhibitions series, so named for the playful hint at the way one may find themselves inclined to speak their mind after consuming some wine. There are just two well-rounded blends in the series, one red and one white, and predictably, I'm a fan of the red. No shade towards the white, I just rarely reach for white when I'm picking a bottle to pair with dinner. I seem to enjoy Gerwurztraminers and Semillons while tour wine country, and then the bottles I bring home sit in my wine rack until I'm visited by an interloping white-drinker—Mom, I'm looking at you.

This perfect weekday wine is a balanced blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot—all wines you would find in a Bordeaux-style blend (obviously this isn't from that eponymous region of France). It's a wonderful wine for drinking while binging on some True Blood or when attending a dinner party as it brings big flavours and lots of fruit, but it's tannins are fairly mellow and it won't cause your face to pucker.

In other news, researching what varietals make up this blend I'm so fond of lead me to start exploring the other French wines available in my local BC Liquor store, many of which come in at a similarly handsome price point (C&S Lost Inhibitions red is $16.99). Stay tuned for a French wine round-up!