The first Boonaroo I tried was their Cabernet Sauvignon; mostly, because it was available locally in walking distance, and the price, at under $5.00 for the bottle, wasn't painful. It's a deep rich crimson-purple. It's fruity, but not without a little tannic bite. We found it's it's much better after about 45 minutes. It wasn't exactly what I'd expect from a Cabernet Sauvignon; it was a bit more plum-berry, for one thing, and so we tried another bottle a few days later. It reminded us both, quite a bit, of the Red Diamond Washington Shiraz we like.

Well, there's a good reason for that. Both wines are Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz blends, though the percentages in each case are a little vague. There's another reason for the sense of familiarity as well. While Boonaroo is an Aussie name (derived from "boomarang," and "kangaroo,") and made with Australian grapes grown in cool-climate areas of Western Australia and noted regions like South Australia's Clare Valley, produced by winemaker, Doug Gore of Washington state's Columbia Crest. Boonaroo was founded in 2003, under the now discontinued Stimson Lane cellars label. I note that the Boonaroo promotional materials and labels refer to Washington influence. Having said that, for some very odd reason, they have no Website for Boonaroo, though they do rave about the brand's marketing potential as Aussie wine for export in their financials.

We purchased a second bottle of the Boonaroo Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz, at the same local store, for the same price; $3.99 a bottle. The employee who we dealt with, though, had a little bit of an attitude problem, since, apparently, he finds new world wines not sufficiently au courant. Or something. He was sufficiently obnoxious that we haven't been back; there are few reasons to tolerate half-witted sticker-price snobbery. Buying decent table wine at a decent price isn't one of them. Just in case you're curious, other bloggers have positive things to say about Boonaroo's Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz.

Boonaroo is a staunch enough red to go with pretty much any entree; it's a reliable table wine, and if you're serving a few friends, it's available in a bargain priced box for under $20.00 for about four bottles of wine. I can recommend it as a wine to accompany cheeseburgers. That said, I confess to wondering about how it would serve as the base for mulled wine or sangria.