The Liquid Muse

Wine On The Run!

Why Three Thieves Steals the Show...

To truly benefit from this post on Three Thieves wines, you must begin with an open mind. Once again, here is an example of not judging a book by its cover – or in this case, a wine by its box.

Three Thieves Bandit line packaging is merely that - an environmentally friendly cardboard container. The first Bandit I tried was a light, crisp Pinot Grigio. Jason and I enjoyed it with my pasta-and-scallops dish. The wine was superb - good tasting - and in a functional vessel.

Frankly, the more I thought about it, the Bandit boxes are pretty darn convenient. (Who wants to lug glass bottles on a picnic?) And, the individual serving mini-Bandits (called “Bullets”) are simply brilliant. Juice boxes for grown-ups, with a happy little kick. Though White Zinfandel is not my thing, their version isn’t too bad... However, I am much more impressed with the Cabernet, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir.

Additionally, this is a case where I applaud a company for its clever marketing. The Three Thieves logo and wine jugs are adorable, considering the whole Wild West theme. Like the wine, it is fun, fresh, imaginative and easy to consume. Most importantly, the wine is as good, and in many cases better, than a lot of comparable vintages in standard wine bottles. (I shared some of this wine with fellow wine-enthusiasts and they agree!) Read the “legend” behind the wines on the Three Thieves website.

The Three Thieves themselves are: fourth generation winemaker, Joel Gott; Charles Bieler (whose family owned Chateau Routas winery in Provence) and money-guy-turned-Mendocino-grape-grower Roger Scommegna. Their unpretentious and cheeky approach to winemaking is refreshing in an industry that tends to take itself quite seriously. (For example, one of their “promotional items” is a sticker stating ‘I “heart” jugs.’ It is risky to be politically incorrect, to be sure. But, anyone who reads The Liquid Muse knows that scores big with me… folks just need to lighten the heck up!)

If The Liquid Muse has still not convinced you to think in (or out of) the box, also consider that the wine has been favorably mentioned in the Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, Gourmet, USA Today and Saveur’s Top 100, among others…

Parent company, Napa Valley’s Trinchero Family Wines must like to ‘play the numbers,’ as other wines under their umbrella include Folie a Deux and Menage a Trois. I’d say that Three Thieves is a sure bet.