Price: $11

Producer: Hangtime Estate

Origin: Carneros, Napa Valley, California

Type of wine: Dry red wine made from the Pinot Noir grape

Try it with: grilled tuna, roasted chicken, pasta salad

Date Reviewed: March 2004

Pinot Noir is a tough grape to grow. It’s quite difficult to find a tasy ‘bargain’ Pinot. Hangtime makes a valiant attempt. This bright ruby wine has cheerful scents of strawberry and pie cherries. The taste is straightforward: ripe red berries. There are slight tannins in this medium bodied Pinot. The finish is brief. Unfortunately the wine didn’t improve in the glass. Too bad. Blame it on the finicky grape.