Erie Shore Vineyards continues to impress me with their wonderful wines and great hospitality – I always walk out of their small wine boutique feeling like one of the family, and with the slightly pleasurable, yet guilty notion that I have tasted a secret family recipe. The Duet this year is a little different than previous year’s releases. This time, it’s a two-thirds/one-third blend of Zweigelt to Cabernet Franc, (it is usually the other way around). This is mainly due to the great abundance of the crop of Zweigelt that was harvested in 2005. Zweigelt is the most popular planted red grape in Austria and produces some spicy and fruity wines on its own, but also enjoys a dance partner as we see here in Cabernet Franc … only a handful of wineries in Ontario (current estimate, about 9) are making Zweigelt, and mostly in blends. Spicy black currant, cedar, dark fruit and tar greet the nose; while on the palate, it’s deliciously bold with some tannin back bone, along with spice, cocoa, anise and great red fruit in the mid-palate. This wine is definitely one that tastes better than it smells. It ends with a cedary tartness which makes one thirst for another sip. The medium-long finish makes the last sip last longest. How do they do it? Ancient family secret.