Summerhill Pyramid Winery Alive Organic Red, or What to Drink During a Long Phone Call

It was my birthday not too long ago and my beautiful friends brought me many bottles of wine as gifts because they pay attention. What lovely friends I have, seriously, they're the best. Some brought be sparkling wine for a special sense of occasion, some brought red wines. All were much appreciated.

I'll start by telling you about this beautiful bottle I received from Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna, BC (most likely acquired in the Lower Mainland, though). Alive Organic Red is a blend made up primarily of Syrah and Merlot, with just a touch of Cab Franc and a smidgen of Cab Sauv.

One more feature of this gorgeous wine? It's vegan friendly! I bet you're asking yourself "What the frick is vegan wine, isn't all wine just fermented grape juice?" And to that, my friend, I say: You'd be mighty surprised at all of the weird places animal products show up.

The Summerhill website was gracious enough to include a thoughtful note to vegans, which explains how animal products such as fish bladders, gelatin, egg whites and more are sometimes used in the winemaking process. Summerhill doesn't use these products to make its wines and as such, the Alive Red blend has a vegan logo incorporated in its beautiful label design. I must say, I feel like they've really appealed to their target demographic (me) with this label. It reminds me of old timey wall paper or a book of apothecary illustrations and I can't get enough.

Some notes I made while I enjoyed this wine last Friday night were "a bit of smokiness on the nose," and that I tasted "a bit of cherry." I also complimented its "gorgeous velvety red colour" as well as its "balanced tannins" and "smooth mouth feel." I guess after I've had a glass or two I think I'm some kind of fancy wine critic.

I will say that this wine paired perfectly with an unmentionably long telephone conversation I had that same night. As I chatted amicably with a new friend, I just kept topping up my glass. Before I knew it five hours had gone by (I know, clearly I like talking to this person) and the bottle was empty.  The wine and the conversation clearly hit the spot. Even though this wine was a gift, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it for myself in future, not just because it tastes wonderful and the bottle is pretty, but also because of the piece of mind I get knowing that no weird animal bits were used in its production.