I have a thing for crows. They are the symbol for the Celtic warrior goddess Morrigan and they have particular totemic significance for me. In a complete non sequitur, I also have developed a proclivity for choosing bottles of wine based on the unusual or somehow symbolic nature of the name on the label or its imagery. Which all brings me to a recent procurement trip to my favorite wine shop, BRIX, in the South End.

As I looked among the familiar labels and contemplated a couple of bottles that were part of that evening’s wine tasting, I saw a Syrah called Lenore, made by the Corvidae Wine Company, sporting a black label that featured an image of a crow. On its reverse the bottle had the following quote from Edgar Allen Poe:

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore – Nameless here for evermore. The Raven

From that point there was no question but that this would be my choice for the evening. It was just too perfect. And it was. Juicy and fruity. Intense and jammy, almost like a Zinfandel, but softened a bit after being opened for a while. A wonderful quaff indeed.

I later was transported to corvidae heaven upon learning that the other wines from this label are a Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah blend called The Rook, a Cabernet Franc called The Keeper, a Petite Syrah called Fable, and a Chardonnay called Mirth. Each Corvidae wine is named with a particular fairy tale, fable, or legend in mind. “Rook” references the legendary luck associated with crows. “Lenore” is named for Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”. “Fable” is inspired by the story of the fox and the crow and its moral- “Beware of Flatterers”. “Mirth” refers to an old nursery rhyme about magpies. Be still my dark and twisted heart. And then my bliss was made complete when I discovered that Corvidae Wine Company is an offshoot of Owen Roe. Owen Roe Winery makes some of my favorite bottles of wine EVER.

The timing of this discovery was also bizarrely prescient, given the call I had this week with Zulu, a tattoo artist in LA who will be creating a crow tattoo for me. But that is a topic for another post.