Here’s another canned wine review featuring the Dark Horse winery. I’m reviewing the Rose and the Pinot Grigio in a can!
There are no liquor stores I can swing by on my way home. I recently moved from the Asian District, where I had a few liquor stores I could hit up before I reached my house, including Western Ave Darling, Freemans. Now that I work on Memorial, and live off Wilshire, I am a straight shot on the Kilpatrick all the way home. I’m counting down the minutes until October when I can stop at Trader Joe’s and grab dinner and wine without a care in the world! Who thinks their whole life is going to change once wine enters grocery stores?
So I was delighted and surprised to stop by the Station Wine and Spirits Liquor Store on May and Memorial. It’s right on the corner, and it’s attached to a gas station, so sometimes it can be hard to miss. It was a Wednesday, and I was jonesin for some wine, so I decided to check it out. I was so so surprised to see a huge liquor store with tons of different varieties of canned wine!
It’s actually incredible how excited I got to see all the different brands and types of canned wine and cocktails at this liquor store. Now that I’m zeroed in on this specific niche, I cannot stop. Just ask my boyfriend. Our fridge is filled with equal parts La Croix and wine. Also Michelob Ultra Cactus Lime because I am pretty much garbage.
I was drawn to the Dark Horse line of wines. I had gone to a Happy Hour the week before at Sidecar, and had some of the Dark Horse Pinot Grigio. It was so dry and crisp, I accidently had 3 glasses. So when I saw a Dark Horse Rose, and a Pinot Grigio, both for $5.99 a can, I almost fainted. I purchased both and ran home to take pictures in my front yard in 100 degree heat.
The Pinot Grigio echoed the wine I had at Sidecar. It was bright and crisp, and had a subtle buttery flavor, which later I realized this wine is blended with unoaked chardonnay. It had fruit-forward notes, and was so easily drinkable. I was so delighted that this wine was the perfect compliment for the Chinese food we had that night. And at 13.5% alcohol, one can was more than enough.
The Rose was also a star! There have been so many iterations of Rose in a can that I have tried, and I felt that this one in particular was one of my favorites. It was fruity, but not too sweet. I enjoyed this can while I was cooking dinner for the night, and then while I was enjoying dinner. It was the perfect compliment to hot dogs and mac and cheese. Just kidding. I think that we had fish and vegetables that night. But honestly I think this Rose could go with anything. Also 13.5%, also $5.99. What a joy and what a find.
The icing on the cake? The lead winemaker for Dark Horse wines is a woman. I knew that this brand was too good to be true. Her name is Beth Liston, and she strives to distribute high quality wines at an affordable price point. You can learn more about her on the Dark Horse website. This wine review and blog post has been such a joy to write. Dark Horse Wines kept surprising me the more research I did on them.
