Wine Wednesday: Purple Cowboy Paso Robles Trail Boss Cabernet Sauvignon

 

I visited my sister recently and we went through a lot of wine. In fairness to us, there were a lot of people with us and they were all drinking it, too, so while we opened a lot of bottles, I don't think any of us had more than a glass or two from each. So, the next few weeks I'll probably be exploring some of those wines, but I'm working from memory, so...I apologize in advance if the descriptions are thin.

So, recently I was writing about wine and my character was bemoaning the fact that while beers, boats and race horses all get phenomenal names, wines generally don't. Well, Purple Cowboy to the rescue. With wine names like Tenacious Red and Trail Boss they are definitely one of the more creative wineries around. I remember drinking this wine when I lived in Paso Robles (where the winery is located) and this wine was making me homesick.

Trail Boss has a distinct aroma of vanilla. The color is a dark red, typical for Cabernet. It's very full-bodied, without being harsh. Lots of ripe, dark fruit flavors--plum and raspberry--with maybe a hint of cocoa.  The website's tasting notes suggests pairing it with Tri-Tip, which is the most Paso Roblan suggestion ever. Tri-tip is to Paso what Brisket is to Texas. I imagine any red wine Paso makes will pair nicely with Tri-Tip--or else. 

I drank it with Italian food--Eggplant Parmesan, Caesar salad, and a few bites of Chicken Marsala, and it was the perfect accompaniment.

It has a hint of sweetness (all those dark-fruit-and-spice notes) that balanced out the acidity of the tomato sauce, and it's big and bold enough to hold its own against all the garlic and parmesan. 

According to the label, Purple Cowboy took its name for a group of Paso winemakers whose teeth were stained purple from all the wine they drank and who liked to ride rodeo on the weekends. I drank so much wine with my sister that my entire mouth was stained purple. But then I brushed my teeth. So yeah, weird flex, but okay. Paso Robles is apparently known as "Cowboy Wine Country." I can only assume it's called that by people who've never visited Texas' wine country. 

But--OTOH--Paso is practically the only place in California where people were cowboy hats and boots unironically. When I first moved there I saw this adorable mug at the Mid-State Fair that read, "the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Paso." I shoulda bought it. I didn't. But I think my longing for that mug helped to manifest my moving to Texas where I bought a mug with a similar sentiment.