Once again, we'll bring you a new deal this Thursday morning at midnight. Or Wednesday night at midnight. Right when it turns from Wednesday to Thursday, is what we're trying to say here.

Red is the most passionate of all colors. The color of love. The color of sin. The color of lobster. And the color of these three Donati wines. Well, really, if you saw these wines in a box of crayons, they wouldn’t be called “red”. They’d probably be something more like “red-violet” or “carmine” or “deep ruby”. But they’re in the red family – the passionate, loving, sinful, lobster-hued red family.

Take the Donati 2004 Merlot. But don’t take it all, because we want some, too. This isn’t the blah Merlot that we all heard about in that movie we’re all sick of hearing about. This is grown in ideal conditions in the Paicines Hills, barreled immediately after pressing, and raised with all the advantages that you and I never had. It’s matured into a richly expressive, deeply fruity, robust wine that honors its Bordeaux heritage, both by its faithful Merlot character and by dressing up in traditional costume and performing folk dances during Bordeaux Heritage Days out at the county fairgrounds.

n00b tip: don’t try to get all continental and pronounce Claret “clair-ay”. Everybody will immediately know you’re a poseur, and may even try to sell you elevator passes. The word should rhyme with “ferret”. Yeah, it looks French, but it’s a made-up British word. Fortunately, nothing else about the Donati 2005 Claret is even remotely British. This blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot was put together with emphasis on fresh, forward fruit – these grapes will whistle and howl at any attractive woman who passes by. (Get it? “Fresh” and “forward”? Hey, they can’t all be gutbusters.) Those rich estate-grown fruits are run through a regimen of classic winemaking techniques and barrel-aged to full-term. Unfined, unfiltered, unfettered by any narrow definition of what a red should be, this drink-it-now red promises substantial rewards for early withdrawal.

Vineyard Manager Matt Donati’s three daughters are the nominal inspiration for the Donati 2004 Sorelle Per Sempre (“sisters forever” in Italian). It’s a similar blend to the Claret, but with a couple of fewer wines and a bigger share of Cabernet Sauvignon. Its lush berry fruit flavors and hints of toasted oak on the nose make it an ideal pair for hearty cibo d’Italia. Buy it now before some soulless ATF agent decides it’s illegal because the guy named it after his kids.

Scarlet letters, red badges of courage, capes waved in front of angry bulls: such is red’s power. These three Donati reds share the fiery passion and passionate fire of red. Or of red-violet, at least.

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