Smoth’s Rating: PartyTime/10

I’m not sure if the vintner of Revolution Red would find my assessment of his/her wine flattering or insulting, but regardless here it goes — Revolution Red is a straight up party wine, as appropriate for a red Solo cup as for a crystal glass. But what exactly is a “party wine”?

Let’s say you’re like my partner. She doesn’t imbibe beer, care for cocktails or like liquor AT ALL. Occasionally, she will take a small glass of wine, and at a party perhaps several small glasses of wine. What she doesn’t want to drink is a tannic, deep, thinker of a wine that she won’t appreciate and will be largely wasted on her at a party. What she wants is something light, sweet, easy drinking but isn’t (god forbid) “Girls Night Out” or something of that ilk. That’s where Revolution Red comes in.

Revolution Red Tasting Notes

Revolution Red doesn’t give you much information on the bottle (they assume you don’t care.) It’s a blend, with no grapes listed. There’s no year, no appellation, no vineyard. It’s “NEW SCHOOL WINE” from “CALIFORNIA” so shut up and deal with it eh? It pours a rather robust ruby, perfectly clear. Revolution Red smells like wine, which was a nice surprise. I mean real red wine, not sugared up, berry flavoured bullshit. There’s some strawberry, a bit of oak. There’s not much, but what there is smells quite pleasant (or at the least, innocuous.)

The taste of Revolution Red actually surpasses tolerable, and approaches enjoyable. There’s a rich sweetness to it that stops just short of getting cloying. There’s a ton of red berries, and a vanilla finish. That’s it. There’s no complexity at all to this wine, but that’s the point I guess. The texture is extremely soft, and the body is quite light with no tannic dryness. I’m pretty sure you could drink, like, a thousand glasses of this wine without really noticing. And that’s what makes it the perfect party wine.

If you’re a red wine drinker, or someone looking to mitigate their beer consumption, Revolution Red is a great substitute party drink. It’s cheap and cheerful, tastes pretty good, and goes down easy. You can actually enjoy this cheap wine, with none of the guilt about squandering a more notable bottle. Folks, this is definitely a wine you don’t have to sip slow.