Alright, you’ve all been so patient with me the last couple months, today starts a wine review countdown until Christmas Eve, 30 wines for under $15. It’s my version of the advent calendar, sorry no chocolates.

I start with the cheekiest bottle of wine on the market right now. If someone described this label to me–with it’s all black interrupted by word associations and shiny silver sparkles that appeal more to the tweener demographic, like those cheap stickers you get in gumball machines… I’d say they was crazy. But to look at it, it’s fucking genius. And to taste it…

Domaine des Terres Dorées FRV 100
imported by Polaner Selections ($13-15)

This property of Jean-Paul Brun is best known for its Beaujolais, and this time of year in particular its Beaujolais Nouveau. But let’s talk about this crazy party girl of a wine. She sparkles inside and out, is a light magenta, and has a hint of sweet–like she’s wearing strawberry lipsmacker. But it’s not a girlie wine per se, she’s got more than a coquettish first impression, and I would bet she goes with chocolate.

I don’t know how a bon vieux homme in Beaujolais pulls marketing genius out of his ass like this, but here you go. I like this stuff better than any Brachetto d’Aqui on the market. A smart boy would bring this bottle to a co-ed holiday party, and watch the single girls flock to his confident feminine side.

Incidentally, the name, according to the Polaner website:

Here’s how it works. The phonetic pronunciation of FRV 100 in English is EFF ARE VEE HUNDRED. In French, it is EFF ERR VAY SON – in other words EFFERVESCENT!

Hey Oooooooooo!