The annual rosé article
Memorial Day is this coming weekend, which makes it time to fire up the grill and start sampling the annual crop of newly released dry rosé. There is no better summer wine! Thankfully, the days of the cloying and sweet white Zinfandels and other sweet pink wines are far in the rear view mirror. Reinforcing what today’s rosés are like helps wine consumers understand how tasty these wines are during summer.
Most of the grapes used in dry rosé now are grown and harvested to be used in rosé, allowing winemakers to manage sugar levels (and therefore alcohol levels) to ferment them bone dry but still keep them low in alcohol, and refreshing. The pale pink color of rosé comes from pulling the wine off the skins before it takes the full color of the red grapes. Fermentation is then completed, driving the sugar levels in the wine below the threshold at which the human palate can detect it. They are light and refreshing, and at the risk of belaboring the point, very dry and crisp. The wines are wonderful on a warm summer afternoon, and pair well with many foods from grilled salmon to smoked meats and even ribs. Here is our list of the now being released crop of 2015 pink wine.
The Skylark Pink Belly rosé of Grenache ($22, wine/beer club $19.80) is one of our and our customer’s favorites each year, and the 2015 is no exception. With vibrant strawberry flavors and wet stone minerality — the hallmark of this great wine from owner winemaker John Lancaster — it never lasts the summer. This year it will likely be gone even more quickly. A combination of being featured at several prominent venues in Northern California and the embrace it now receives here in North Idaho means it will be gone by mid-June. It should not be missed, it is fabulous.
The 2015 Côtes de Provence Rosé from Pere Anselme ($15 wine/beer club $13.50) is one of those South of France Pinks that is joy in a glass. It is the palest pink in color and comes in the traditional Provencal bottle. The wine is very light on the palate, citrus noted and refreshing. Many years ago when we traveled to Provence, this kind of wine was everywhere, and we enjoyed a bottle on the beach in the seaside town of Bandol. This wine will transport you psychologically to that spot, with visions of enjoying lovely pink wine with a native pan bagnat.
Surprisingly, there is still a bit left of the 2015 Seven Hills Rosé of Cabernet Franc ($17 wine/beer club price $15.30) still around. We are speculating that there was a bit more made this year, as there is still some available — good news for all of us, especially since with the sale of the winery this year things could change going forward. It is amazing wine made from Cabernet Franc, it is so clean on the finish and crisp on the palate, the wine is wonderful! Sealed with a twist cap, it is easy and convenient to open as well.
Soon to arrive is the first rosé of Beaujolais we have ever had access to. From Vissoux ($22, wine/beer club $19.80) a light and zippy rosé made from the Gamay grape will surely please. Red Beaujolais is great in the summer because it is so light, being a bit lighter than Pinot Noir, so with the wine being pulled off the skins early and made into rosé, it will be the perfect summer quaffer.
The 2015 version of the Elk Cove Rosé of Pinot Noir ($17, wine/beer club $15.30) on of our annual favorites is great again this year, although showing a bit more weight than in previous years. The light cherry and vibrant strawberry flavors are lovely, and the wine is showing significantly more body with the additional palate weight.
There are more great dry pink wines than ever, more than we can review in our weekly column. Stop by the shop for even more suggestions on wonderful dry summer rosés from domestic and old world producers that are making the best summer wine you will ever have.
If there is a topic you would like to read about or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.
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George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and table top décor shop located by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. Be sure and check out our weekly blog at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com/home/blog-2 You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.