The next time you are searching for an elegant and versatile red wine, look for the bottle with ducks on the label - a "Paraduxx", to be exact. The Duckhorn Wine Company recently released its 2002 Paraduxx, crafted from a pairing of the finest Napa Valley Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. I will say that it lives up to the winery’s goal of providing fine red wines with a distinctive Californian personality.

Paraduxx is a unique Napa Valley red wine in the tradition of the world’s great blends. Harvested from zinfandel—a grape variety synonymous with California—merlot, and cabernet sauvignon, Paraduxx red wine has developed its own recognizable style.

Now in its ninth vintage, this blend has been made from Napa Valley Mountain fruit as well as valley floor grapes from estate vineyards. This is a wine that has rich, full fruit flavors and soft, integrated tannins, making it a natural complement to a wide array of foods.

For the first time since the 1998 vintage, the 2002 Paraduxx blend includes a touch of merlot. Hand-selected from the cellars of Duckhorn Vineyards by winemaker Bill Nancarrow, this fruity, fleshy lot of merlot softens the wine’s mid-palate while taming its strong tannins. The result is a more vibrant and open wine than the more classically austere 2001 vintage.

This is a medium-bodied wine that features a lush aroma of black currant, coconut, vanilla, blackberry jam, pepper, oak and spice. The flavors are dominated by sweet black fruits such as cherry, blackberry, and plum, followed by chocolate, vanilla, toasted oak, and caramel.

There is something for the senses to appreciate on the outside of the bottle as well. Each vintage, the Paraduxx brand is celebrated with a new edition of its artist label series featuring a pair of ducks native to the Pacific Flyway. For this release, Montana wildlife artist Daniel Smith created an acrylic painting of a pair of Canvasbacks riding the coastal California waves.