10 Things You Didn’t Know About California’s Leading Premium Wine Brand

With its iconic label and popular styles, Dark Horse wines are hard to miss on shelf. This celebrated Californian producer has forged its reputation on combining traditional winemaking techniques with cutting edge technology to deliver wines that exceed expectations. But this isn’t the only way this award-winning wine brand lives up to its name.

1. The Dark Horse team works with an impressive 400 growers across California and enjoys first pick of the best of the crop, ensuring that only the best fruit is used to craft Dark Horse wines.
2. Every vintage of every wine is tasted over 100 times before winemakers Beth Liston and Haley Nelson-Meade and their team give the go-ahead for the wines to be bottled and released to wine drinkers all over the world.
3. Dark Horse has won over 100 awards internationally in the last 2 years, including the most ‘Best Buys’ for wines under $10 by America’s best-known wine magazine, Wine Enthusiast.
4. The combination of science and art and the synergy between wine chemistry and the hands-on artistry of blending is what first attracted Beth to wine.
5. No expense is spared in the winery, with the team employing innovative winemaking techniques and testing to ensure that the best-tasting wines are crafted
6. Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon uses extended maceration so more complexity is drawn from the grape skins. This creates a rich and complex wine with notes of blackberry, dark chocolate and toasted oak.
7. Dark Horse Merlot is aged for up to 12 months, meaning the wine has plenty of time to settle into its style. This creates a wine bursting with notes of dark cherries and toasted oak, and a smooth mouthfeel.
8. The 2021 vintages of Dark Horse Merlot and Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon won Gold Medals at this year’s Mundus Vini Awards.
9. Dark Horse Chardonnay is aged in French oak with light lees so that the wine gains aromatic complexity and structure with notes of crisp peach and pineapple with a soft finish.
10. Winemaker Beth Liston only ever wears black to work. Although the team was initially wary of her fashion sense, Beth reveals that it’s because she loves getting her hands dirty in both the winery and the vineyards, and black won’t show all the wine and grape juice stains!

Now Discover the Wines

Dark Horse Chardonnay

RRP £9.00, available from retailers nationwide

A rich, dry Chardonnay with notes of apple, ripe stone fruit, crisp peach and pineapple, layered with toasted oak leading to a soft, mellow finish. A glass of this Chardonnay is the perfect partner for a serving of smashed avocado with halloumi or to complement a creamy curry.

Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon

RRP £9.00, available from retailers nationwide

A bold Cabernet Sauvignon with complex notes of plums, dark chocolate, a hint of toasted oak and a smooth finish. Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon pairs exceptionally well with gourmet grilled steak, or indeed with homemade burgers smothered in melted blue cheese.

Dark Horse Merlot

RRP £8.50, available from retailers nationwide

A medium-bodied Merlot with flavourful and vibrant aromas of dark cherries, plums and an aromatic layered finish with toasted oak notes. It can complement everything from modest meals such as vegetable lasagne, all the way to exotic dishes such as spicy jambalaya.

Dark Horse Malbec

RRP £9.00, available from retailers nationwide

Peter Morrell, Editor, comments “The Dark Horse Malbec 2020 is a treat to drink. The wine pours a dark ruby colour, and the bouquet offers strong aromas of plums and blackberries together with lots of oak, and hints of smoke. The wine is full bodied, and its most notable feature is its smoothness but with enough tannins to make it dry. This silkiness is helped by the fact that it has low acidity.

“On the palate the blackberry flavour remains but the plums morphs into dark cherries, and are joined by vanilla and chocolate notes. The finish is strong, fruity and persistent.

“Drink the Dark Horse Malbec 2020 with roast lamb and barbequed meats.”

Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc

RRP £9.00, available from retailers nationwide

A refreshingly crisp, dry, white wine, Dark Horse Sauvignon Blanc offers bright, citrus aromas of grapefruit, lime and gooseberry lined with fresh green apples and white peach. The layers of citrus and melon flavours create a vibrant palate with a medium body and a long, clean finish. Enjoy with fresh cracked crab, vegetable risotto or spicy Mexican tacos.

About Dark Horse

Always challenging wine stereotypes, Dark Horse encourages wine drinkers to follow their own path and make their own rules both in wine and in life. In fact, they believe that taking the unconventional path can lead to even better results.