Grateful Dead Wine Steal Your Face
This wine had the mouthfeel of Gerry Garcia’s hair. Yuck! Part of the Wines That Rock series, this wine was the Grateful Dead Wine red blend. Per the bottle, the alcohol content was 14.5% and the fruit came from Mendocino County, California. The Wines That Rock series has five different wines in the series, with the Grateful Dead wine being one of them.
Having recently reviewed the Wines That Rock Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Red, I was surprised at the significant difference in enjoyability of the Grateful Dead wine. According to the wine’s website, the Grateful Dead wine was made “…from premium Mendocino County fruit, blending a one-of-a-kind wine with Rock ‘n Roll mythology.”
Grateful Dead Wine Review
I tasted the 2010 vintage of this wine.
Let’s start with the positives. The cork was in great shape and the wine exhibited a dark and deep plum color. The legs were many and thick in the glass. The nose was aromatic with cherry and black raspberry notes.
OK, on to the taste, mouthfeel and finish. The taste of this wine was bitter and of pepper and green melon skin. The pepper wasn’t so bad. In fact, the bottle advertised “peppered bacon” as a flavor to watch for. But, definitely no bacon. I would know, I love bacon.
The mouthfeel was like yarn. Not pleasant. The finish was short, but even that was too long. Bitter tannins that reminded me of stems.
Overall, I was very surprised at how much I did not enjoy this Grateful Dead wine. It’s possible I got a bad bottle, but I’m not going to give this one another try.
If you try this series, skip the Grateful Dead wine and go for the Pink Floyd wine instead. It’s much much better.
I have to agree with Jon. I did not enjoy this bottle. Very bitter finish.
Thanks for commenting Jonathan!
It sounds to me you’re on a long strange bad trip. Perhaps you had just shared a ball of yarn with your China Cat . Plus how do you know what Jerry’s hair tasted like ? I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you couldn’t get tickets or your old lady hooked up with a Dead Head and went on tour with Dead & Co.? At any rate I never did go for criticism so I shall stop as maybe you should too. Try smoking a little Mother Nature before your next glass. Garcia later
I’m like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice. Peace brother.
Hello,
I bought this wine based solely on the label. I am a fan of the Grateful Dead and what a great label! I read the back of the bottle, and the description sounded right on! However, one can never be too sure of what they’re getting based on those notes alone. I came home, and then looked up reviews on the wine BEFORE I tried it. I have to say Jon, after trying this wine, I respectfully and completely disagree with your review. It’s unfortunate that this review comes up as one of the only reviews on this wine while doing a google search, hence my comments. I am not a wine connoisseur, but I do enjoy wine. I typically buy bottles priced between $10-20. This was out of my price range at $23.99 (I am in Canada, and everything is more expensive here) I was hoping for the best, but expecting the worst as I poured my first glass. The color was a deep burgundy. I was satisfied there. I stood up straight (while standing in the kitchen) and took a generous sniff, and right away I could smell deep berry aroma and smokiness. Now I was excited! I was generally pleased that I did not waste $24 on some dumb souvenir bottle. There was absolutely no finish like yarn! Although I have had PLENTY of wines in my price range with that finish! Yarn. What a great description that I shall “borrow” in the future. In conclusion: A splurge well worth it!! I think you got a bad bottle, Jon.
Thanks for your comment on the review. Much appreciated, and I’m always glad to hear about someone with a differing opinion. It is quite possible I got a bad bottle or there could have been temperature issues in its journey from the winery to the wine store. I was suprised I didn’t enjoy the wine, given the good experience I had with the Pink Floyd wine from the same winemaker.
But, I had to give an Honest Wine Review. It’s what I do!
Taste in wine is truly personal. In my opinion, that’s one of the BEST parts of being a wine consumer. Although I stick by my review, I’m happy to hear you had a good experience with the wine. Cheers!
LOL, you crack me up Isabelle. Thanks for the great comments on this review and the others on this site. Much appreciated!
I never liked the “Grateful Dead” and after your review … don’t think I would like the wine either! A mouthfeel like yarn? Ugh. You can send this one to the (ahem) dark side of the moon. Now, we all know that this doesn’t exist right? :)