Should I Pardon the Prisoner?

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with one of the most popular wines in the U.S over the past few decades. The wines haven’t changed over the years, but my tastes and preferences in wine styles certainly have. I banished The Prisoner wines, made by The Prisoner Wine Company, from my cellar long ago. But is it time for me to pardon The Prisoner? Let’s find out!   

There’s been quite a lot of pardoning going on lately. Biden pardoned a large number of folks during his last days in office, including his deadbeat son Hunter, along with pre-emptive pardons for Anthony Fauci, General Mark Miley, and all the Jan 6 Committee members and staff. And since returning to the White House, Trump has granted pardons to 142 individuals, and that doesn’t even include the blanket pardons he granted to the 1,500 insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6^th, 2021. A few of those 142 pardons include outstanding citizens such as Todd and Julie Christley (I had to look up who these folks were and once I did, I decided these failed reality TV stars should be back in prison as soon as possible), Rudi Guiliani, and Mark Rich to name a few. Oh, and he also granted clemency to that lying scoundrel George Santos.

All this got me thinking about who or what I might want to pardon if I had the power to do so. As it turns out, I quickly came up with a pardon candidate of my own – The Prisoner Red Blend wine! So, what did this wine do to cause me to ban it from my cellar for the past two decades? First, a bit of history on these wines.

The inaugural release of The Prisoner wine was in early 2000. It became an instant hit and sold out quickly. The wine is a red blend consisting of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah, Syrah, and Charbono. It’s made in a fruit forward style, big and rich, with a “bash you in your face” aggressiveness that appeals to the wine drinking masses. It’s also not cheap, retailing for about $40 a bottle.

When it first came out, I bought a bottle due to all the hype. At the time, I was in my “wine snob” phase and was focused on drinking small production wines that showcased unusual grape varieties, and that were more refined and subtle in style. I was rarely drinking wines tailored toward the masses, which were characterized by intense fruit, tons of oak, and high alcohol. It turns out that The Prisoner was all of those things, and I thought it was overblown, out of balance, and extreme – I didn’t like it at all. But I was definitely in the minority. My sister, Laura, absolutely loved it and would buy it by the case. And the critics (not all, but many) gave it good reviews as well. Despite that, I banned it from my cellar and took every chance I had to disparage it.

As time went on, my tastes evolved and I began to appreciate the big, bold style of wine in addition to the more refined and restrained style that appealed to me the most. I explored and tasted a wider range of wine styles and learned to enjoy them all – each had their own unique characteristics and provided endless options for pairing with different foods. A few years ago, I ordered a glass of The Prisoner Red Blend at a restaurant to pair with a spicy Italian pasta dish, and it turned out to be the perfect match. The wine was big and bold, but nicely balanced with bright fruit, moderate tannins, and a nice long finish – it was lip smacking good! But even then, I didn’t add it to my cellar.

Time went on, and I continued to explore new wine releases – these included Saldo wines (my favorites are their Zinfandel and Chenin Blanc), Blindfold wines (I absolutely love their Chardonnay and Blanc De Noir), and Unshackled wines (their sparkling wine and Pinot Noir are excellent!). Unbeknownst to me, Saldo, Blindfold, and Unshackled were second label wines produced by – wait for it – The Prisoner Wine Company! I started thinking differently about The Prisoner once I discovered the connection to some of my favorite new wine producers, but I still didn’t buy any Prisoner wines.

Then, last year two things happened. First, The Prisoner Wine Company released their first Chardonnay, and it got fantastic reviews, so I decided to buy a bottle to see what all the hype was about. It turns out this wine is actually a white blend made up mostly of Chardonnay, but also small amounts of Viognier and Gewurztraminer. And it was delicious! It was full-bodied, which was to be expected, but also nicely balanced with moderate acidity and wonderful flavors of granny smith apple, peach, lemon and lime, and kiwi. There were also nice notes of toasted oak and vanilla on the finish.

Second, our local Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse hosted a wine tasting dinner featuring The Prisoner wines. The selections included their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a sparkling wine as well to kick off the dinner. All the wines were excellent and perfect matches for each of the dishes they were paired with. And, surprise, surprise, my favorite wine of the dinner was The Prisoner Red Blend!

It was finally time for me to embrace this wine and admit that I actually love it, even though it’s over-the-top in every way! Yes, it was time for me to pardon The Prisoner and welcome it back into our home! Since my change of heart, we have enjoyed numerous bottles of The Prisoner Chardonnay and recently, we served both the Chardonnay and The Prisoner Red Blend at a “Steak and Potatoes” dinner we hosted for some friends in the neighborhood. And yes, both of them were delicious!

So, the moral of the story? Open up the aperture on the wines you are willing to try and periodically revisit ones you might not have liked in the past – you might be surprised as your tastes and preferences change over time!