Perfect 10 rises above movie star imagery

by John Griffin
Dining Editor
San Antonio Express-News

Pam Grier could kick most anybody's behind from here to Tuesday, if she wanted to.

Cary Grant, meanwhile, was one of the most elegant performers ever to grace the silver screen.

Yet the bold, bodacious Grier, from "Foxy Brown" to the present, couldn't boot her way into a wine review any more than Grant could charm his way into one.

I'm talking about using cultural references to make a statement about wine. It's a practice that's become popular in recent years, and it usually falls along the lines of having a bold wine deemed masculine and an elegant wine labeled feminine.

How limiting is that? I'm sure female wine drinkers don't think of Halle Barry when they drink a silky, supple wine, just as I don't think of Harrison Ford every time I'm drinking a tannic monster.

I don't think that concept quite hit home until I saw the labels of the new Perfect 10 brand. As you might expect from the name, the logos bear images of women. The Blonde is the white wine, a Monterey chardonnay, while the Brunette is a Paso Robles merlot. A redhead could be next.

The name refers to more than women of the younger Bo Derek's physical beauty. It also refers to the price: Perfect 10 sells for $10 dollars a bottle.

But wine isn't about names or labels. It's what's in the bottle that matters - and here is where the Perfect 10 scores.

The 2003 Blonde favors the crisper, fruitier style of chardonnay that is, thankfully, gaining popularity. There is a bracing hit of apple and pear that leads to a clean finish.

The 2003 Brunette has a nice level of spice from American oak that offers support to the red, round fruit flavor. This is not your wimpy, watery California merlot; nor is it so overly tannic that it would need years to mature properly.

Both are fun wines and good values for the price, which is what their creator, Chad Auler, had in mind.

Auler is the son of Ed and Susan Aauler, of Fall Creek in Tow, and he's vice president of Auler Investments. But with Perfect 10, he is branching out. The grapes are grown in California, and though the first vintage was bottled in the Hill Country, future vintages will be entirely Californian. I wish him luck with the venture. We can always use good, affordable wines. And I even have a suggestion on the labels: Why not cater to the growing market of women wine buyers and offer a second series of labels depicting men? Just remember to drop the "e" off "Blonde".