While I do not drink red wine (it makes me sneezy! Who is so foolish as to be allergic to wine?) I do appreciate the rich colors of red wine. 3 Oysters Red Wine ($18 for 38ml bottle) is probably a good approximation to the color of some red wines without looking like dried blood (I’m looking at you Montblanc Shakespeare Red Velvet, you big liar!).
Red Wine is a warm, deep red with some purple undertones giving it that “squeezed from a grape” vibe of red wine.
Unlike a lot of reds which tend to lean to bright, vibrant red or red-orange-y or a maroon with black undertones, 3 Oysters Red Wine is reddish but also touched with a little purple making it a bit subdued. I found it to be a great accompaniment to the Platinum 3776 Shungyo. In the past, I’ve filled it with brighter red and then found myself not using the pen because the ink was too bright. This is a more subtle, grown-up red. I feel like writing about Venice or other Italian cities with my inky wine.
It even made me want to write neater. Inkmas has definitely brought it to my attention that I’ve been neglecting writing and practicing my calligraphy for over a month. I was very rusty this week. Hopefully the holidays will give me time to practice.
When compared to other reds in my collection, you can see that Red Wine (top swatch) shades but does not sheen. That honor goes to Sailor Jentle Grenade (bottom swatch). I included two swatches from Birmingham Pen Co. — Fort Pitt Blockhouse and Ebenezer Penny Carmine ($7.99) — those boys over at Birmingham love deep, dark colors! I include Callifolio Grenat ($12 for 40ml bottle) which I’d thought of as a wine color but it is definitely more pink than 3 Oysters Red Wine.
The Birmingham inks lean more brick-y or brown than Red Wine. Though Blockhouse is probably pretty close. The Sailor Jentle Grenade is a popular red for its sheen but if sheen is not your thing, I’d give Grenade a hard pass. It has a gold green sheen.
So, with all those comparisons, I think it’s easy to see that, in the wine category of colors, there are as many options as there are bottles of wine in the world. I think 3 Oysters offers a great red wine color with Red Wine.
Tools:
- Paper: Rhodia Ice No. 18 Lined with 6mm guide sheet
- Pens: Dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), Platinum 3776 Shungyo with Soft Fine Nib (similar models available, $165.66)
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
- Brush: Princeton Neptune #8 Round ($7.16)
- Ink: 3 Oysters Red Wine ($17 for 50ml bottle)
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