NV Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon, California

Terry post:

Bottom Feeder Series

This begins my review of wines which are priced at $5.00, or less. These are the bottom shelf dwellers or found in discount bins everywhere: they are the wines which we generally avoid. For the next few weeks I'll subject myself to sampling these low-cost wines. So here goes.

There is something called the "halo effect". Wikipedia describes the effect thus, "The halo effect is a cognitive bias whereby the perception of one trait (i.e. a characteristic of a person or object) is influenced by the perception of another trait (or several traits) of that person or object. An example would be judging a good-looking person as more intelligent."

I point out the "halo effect" as I sampled this Whole Foods wine one Saturday evening as I watched my Auburn Tigers dis-assemble the Arkansas Razorbacks.

My impression: Light red in the glass - quite pale for a Cabernet Sauvignon. Cherries on the nose when sloshed in the glass but nothing else. No acidity. No tannins. The wine is one-dimensional offering with cherries standing alone without any backbone. Unappealing. Not recommended.

Okay. "Halo Effect" wasn't an issue with this low-priced offering from Whole Foods, but I'll be mindful of the issue should I sample more wine during the remainder of the college football season.

$4.99 at Whole Foods, Reston Virginia

~ Terry post

NV Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Terry post:

The first thing you should know when you visit Wholefoods Market is it's nickname: "whole paycheck". Wholefoods Market is an expensive place to shop for your groceries. The Porches, Mercedes and Volvos in the parking lot tell you all you need to know about the demographic which shops at Whole

Paycheck.

So imagine my surprise when I saw a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon at the endcap of check-out counter for $4.99. The wine, a non-vintage Harthill Farms is a California appellation is of an unknown origin. I tried searching for Harthill Farm Winery on the web, and all I could find was a horse farm in Ocala, Florida. I am left with assuming that some middle-man has aggregated a lot of juice and brokered a high-volume deal with Wholefoods Market. Think of Harthill Farm as the upscale version of "Two-Buck Chuck".

My Impression: Medium red in color. Thin nose with very little fruit across the palate. Moderate soft tannins on the woody finish. It is a pretty simple wine without much going on other a little fruit and a respectable amount of tannins at the end. No real flaws.

I paired the wine with a bowl of chili this evening. In boxing terms, the wine was fighting outside of it its weight class. While I found Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon acceptable, it did not have the intensity to stand up to the spicy beef, beans and tomatoes. All-in-all, at $4.99 for a 750 mL bottle with no critical faults the NV Harthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon is a very good value and worthy of a try. Just be careful when you park your truck next to the Porche.

~ Terry