ADVERTISING: Advertorial — It’s all about the whites…and rosé

Most every wine consumer changes their consumption patterns during the year. Full bodied reds and Bubbly sell better in the winter months and around the holidays. During summer in the warm weather most of us move to lighter takes on red wine and we consume more white wine especially crisp and zippy bottlings. This year though with the long run of hot temperatures here in North Idaho we have seen a dramatic increase in the consumption of white and dry rosé. We have even noticed some of our die hard, “I only drink red” customers coming in and requesting recommendations for something light and refreshing!

The good news is we have many great light bodied whites and dry rosés in stock right now, perfect for these hot days. Here are some of our favorites.

After a brief outage we have gotten the 2019 Skylark Pinot Blanc ($27, Wine Club Price $24.30) back in stock. Our description of the Skylark from owner winemaker John Lancaster is always that it is the most elegant white wine we have in the shop. It is that but with a sleek crisp cutting edge at the same time. The flavors are of broiled citrus and tart green apples with lovely texture and palate weight producing that elegant sense about it. Set me up with a bottle of this and some salty hard cheese and a baguette in a shady spot on the water and that is summer.

Mary has taken to describe her current white wine preference as being in a “Soave rut.” I get it too and the 2018 Pieropan Soave ($20, Wine Club Price $18) is the perfect wine to keep us all in that “rut.” The Pieropan shows the classic saline minerality notes on the nose along with a palate that is loaded with lime flavors, generous texture and a clean refreshing finish. The sea salt essence reemerges on the finish which is what makes Soave such a natural wine with shellfish. Grill up some oysters open a bottle of Soave and you will get it, but beware the rut, it is a tough one to break out of.

We have the latest vintage, 2020 of Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc ($55, Wine Club Price $49.50) in the shop right now, and it should not be missed. We know this is some pretty heady price territory for any white wine, the Spottswoode is simply that good. From one of Napa Valley’s premier producers the wine shows pink grapefruit and wet stone minerality aromas leading to a sleek, elegant and unoaked palate loaded with citrus flavors that continue to evolve through the lengthy finish. As one of the best white wines we know it is worth every penny they get for it.

The 2020 Anjos Vinho Verde ($14, Wine Club Price $12.60) is back in stock. Vinho Verde in general and the Anjos specifically is light and bright with just a touch of residual sugar and the lightest touch of effervescence making it the perfect summer quaffer. With all of the supply chain issues the Anjos has been a bit hit and miss on when we will have it but it is here now so come and get it. It is one of our customer favorites and a lovely spritzer for summer.

We have been thrilled to get more of the 2020 Scaia Rosato ($15, Wine Club Price $13.50) from Italy. This lovely dry rosé has all we want in summery pink wine. The nose is mineral driven with back notes of ripe spring strawberry. The palate is crisp, light and bone dry with a clean finish and flavors of red raspberry and strawberry across the palate.

We have just about 4 cases left from this year’s allocation of 2020 Skylark Pink Belly ($25, Wine Club Price $22.50). As you all know it is our most popular dry rosé every year, and one taste of the 2020 and you will know why. Loaded with palate flavors of the red fruits of summer, the wine shows notes of watermelon and tart cherry with a clean finish and a citrus laden complex nose. It is a perfect summer wine to pair with a Pan Bagnat for a lazy summer lunch by the water.

The 2020 Rosé of Beaujolais from Chermette ($22, Wine Club Price $19.80) just arrived last week. It is fabulous again. Crafted from Gamay and removed after a brief few hours of skin contact during fermentation the wine is the palest of pinks. It presents just as lightly as the color makes you think it would. The nose shows notes of wet stones, and tart berry. The palate follows up with clean berry notes and crisp acid. We received a generous allocation of 6 cases this year on the wine, which is better than past years but still won’t last long as the wine has quite a following.

While some cooler weather and some rain would be nice, we do have this great line-up of wines and more to deal with the hot weather. Stop by the shop soon for your perfect summer refreshments.

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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018.

George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop.

You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.