Going to the Dogs

I’m typically leery of wines with cute, punny, or outrageous names. Goats do Roam. The Unbearable Lightness of Riesling. Fat Bastard. They’re all truly dreadful. So I was expecting little when I uncorked the Rosenblum Cellars Côte du Bone Roan 2005 from Chateau La Paws.

Here’s a surprise: I loved it. And that was before I found out that a large percentage of the profits from this wine go to benefit Paws for a Cause, a nonprofit operating in all 50 states that trains service dogs for people with disabilities.

First, the wine. It’s a big, lusty, Parker-ish red made of Carignane, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Mourvedre. Nothing subtle here. There’s tons of brilliant fruit — mostly cherry, currant, and plum — with a weighty infusion of oak, pepper, and allspice.

Yet, it’s smooth. Unlike a lot of the California wines, this one doesn’t slap you around. It lies neatly in the glass — viscous but still — and bursts into the mouth but finishes clean. The 14.9% alcohol can be a bit overpowering. But it won’t leave you thirsty for days, the way tannic Cabs from Napa sometimes do.

Add to that the service aspect, and there could be no better reason for spending $13.99 on a bottle of wine. Winemaker Kent Rosenblum is a veterinarian by training, and in February 2008 he donated more than $43,000 in proceeds from Côte du Bone Roan and Côte du Bone Blanc to Paws for a Cause, to help train assistance dogs for people with disabilities, including hearing loss, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spinal cord injuries.

This organization even has a "seizure response" program that teaches dogs to recognize seizures and protect their owners from the attendant dangers, such as falling and choking.

It is a rather odd thing, I think, that service animals are so universally effective. There could be no more visible cue to a person’s disability than the presence of a dog with a brightly-colored coat and stiff, tented harness. But the marriage of wise canine and frail human somehow promotes an unassailable dignity for both.

I can think of no better way to spend my wine budget. And in this case, the drink itself is of quality, even apart from the good that it does.