181 Merlot Wine

CockTale: I'm not a big fan of wine, I honestly have never opened a bottle of wine by myself. I'm that guy in the wine aisle at the grocery store that wrote the name of the wine my wife asked me to buy, then I have to navigate through the different sections because I have no clue whether it was a Merlot, Cabernet or white. I wouldn't know the first thing about selecting a bottle, so there was a large debate within the CockTales & Reviews staff about whether or not to even include wine in the reviews. But the main point of CockTales & Reviews was to stray from the monotony of my usual cocktail selections, so wine makes the cut on a limited basis. After my wife's birthday dinner at Pomegranate, and if you have never eaten there - run, don't walk to it right away, we stopped by the store to pick up a bottle of 181 Merlot. Mainly this was selected because it was a $20 bottle of wine on sale for $9.99. I strayed from my regular rum and coke and two glasses into 181 Merlot my body started to experience a far different sort of drunk than it regularly does.

Review:
Taste: A little on the sweet side, some of that peppery burn on your tongue that red wine puts off but not as dry as I am used to. Based on my limited experience with wines, I would say it was above average for those that I have tried. - "3.5"
Drunk: Warm, touchy, tingly - body drunk is how I would call it. Very nice. - "4"
Hangover Factor: Dry mouth was a large factor, unquenchable thirst. - "2"
Price: I only paid $9.99, but it is regularly $20.00. At $9.99 it is a decent deal, I can't imagine paying $20 for a bottle of wine. I'm more in the $6-$7 dollar region, so low marks here - "2"
Novelty: If you were to bring this bottle to a party, I think that would probably go over well if the people there knew that this was an above average bottle. "3.5"

I enjoyed wine night, not sure it is going to be a frequent event at our house but fun to mix it up from time to time. Overall, 181 Merlot grades out at a "3"