Wine is what's been getting us all through this, am I right?
So, to the news that Snoop Dogg is partnering with 19 Crimes to bring a California red wine to market — with his mug on the label and his story in the background — my response is to hold out my empty wine glass.
Yes, please! We all want some of that!
About the 19 Crimes wines.
To understand this partnership between Snoop Dogg and 19 Crimes, it is necessary to first understand all the wines at this Napa Valley winery.
They have a theme. And that theme is crimes and the people who paid for those "crimes."
Not just any criminal, though. Most of these wines feature people who were banished to Australia for crimes that qualified for the punishment of "transportation." There were 19 of these crimes. And the sentence was considered nearly as severe as the death penalty.
Once convicted, the convicts were sent by ship to the penal colony in Australia. Many died on the way. And those who didn't probably wished they had.
The wines tell these stories.
This dark red blend called The Banished ($13) is about all of them.
This Shiraz has a tale to tell.
James Kieley's mug is on the label of this 19 Crimes Shiraz ($13). His story is a hard one. He was banished for life to Australia for sympathizing with the starving Irish people during the Fenian uprisings.
He was, eventually, pardoned by the king.
This Hard Chard is for the women.
Jane Castings was a working mom of four in 1846. She worked as a housemaid and was sentenced to seven years in the penal colony on Australia for buying stolen cheese and bacon.
This Hard Chardonnay ($13) honors all the women who were sent to the Australian penal colony, though.
Being political was a crime.
That's John Boyle O’Reilly's face on this red blend. Another Irishman who was sent to the penal colony for defying English rule over Ireland, he was a member of the Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, which alone was enough to get you sent to the Australian penal colony.
He was stubborn, though. He wrote poetry on the journey there, eventually escaped to America, and became a newspaper editor and public speaker in Boston.
Snoop Dogg's Cali Red
Snoop Dogg's Cali Red ($12) is not a tribute to criminals from the 1700s, of course. It's part of a modern collection of wines that celebrate those who lead the way when it comes to rule breaking, culture creating, and overcoming adversity.
It will be available this summer. Meanwhile, you (if you live in a state that allows this) can order a case or as many bottles as you need of this delicious and reasonably priced Napa wine to be delivered right to your door.
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