Gallo Family Warming Red Wines

Despite it being March, guest reviewer, Emma Button has been on the lookout for a warming red wine to settle down with on these cold and blustery evenings. Here's what she made of three different warming reds from Gallo.

I don't remember ever having knowingly tried a Gallo red wine until very recently and I'll admit that I was extremely surprised at the quality of the wines for such a well known brand. The three single-grape wines that I tried were all very grown-up flavours that each packed a punch and certainly delivered on the warming, spicy notes that I was looking for.

The Pinot Noir by Gallo family vineyards was my absolute favourite; very spicy with a great depth of flavour which made me think about every mouthful. I enjoyed my Pinot Noir alongside lamb steaks and cous cous but it would work just as easily with pork and a gutsy fish dish. All of my pre-conceptions about californian red wine were thrown out of the window when I tasted this wine - I very much enjoyed it.

After having reset my expectations I went on to try the Cabernet Sauvignon which I found to be a little drying in the mouth and harder work to drink on its own. I think I would match it with a chilli or another spicy meat dish as it is quite full-flavoured and can stand up to some big tastes.

The Merlot by Gallo was to me the most flexible of their warming red wines - great with pretty much any dish I could think of and medium-bodied so not too heavy and quite drinkable on its own! The wine describes itself as having cherry flavours with hints of mocha but I would describe it as being exactly what I think of when someone describes a wine as "fruity", it tasted to me like an autumnal hedgerow fruit pie! Great fun to drink.