Rockstar Wine

Who said wine was only for middle-aged yuppie Georgetown soccer moms? Though I am a vodka girl, Merkin Vineyards has shown me that, surprisingly, wine can be for the most edgy and eccentric of individuals. After meeting the lead singer of rockband Tool, Maynard Keenan, this evening, I was more impressed with the eclectic series of wine he was producing with Merkin Vineyards than his celebrity as a rockstar (Which I still don't understand why you would ever name your band after a synonym for loser, but that's a whole different story). After chatting with him briefly, I was invited to try one of his excellent creations; a Sangiovese in his Caduceus wine series, with notes of pepper, cedar, and berry, that is loud, exciting, and definitely fit for a rock star like Keenan who used to perform on stage in a painted face and women's undergarments. Though Caduceus is an excellent line of different wines, he has done so much more for the wine community than produce great juice; Keenan has created a label that has made wine more appealing to a demographic that, in the past, probably would have gone for the Everclear instead of a nice Malbec. Even more, he has an extensive and very popular website that looks like something out of the computer game 'Myst', and just had the premiere of his indie film, Blood into Wine. He's even been on tour, but has left the bras and face makeup behind, doing signings and meet-and-greets and Whole Foods and different wine distributers across the country. His appeal to a variety continues, and for Keenan, his wine career has just begun; He plans on launching several more cellars in and around the Phoenix area. And, who knows, if you're lucky, you might just catch this new wino around DC in these next couple of days...