California Rosé, Tasty, Kosher

Oxnard may not spring to mind immediately when you start riffing through your mental Rolodex of California wine regions. The Ventura County town is home to Herzog Wine Cellars, under the umbrella of the Royal Wine Corporation. The winery's story is one of immigrant grit and determination. 

The Herzog website says the company goes back to "Philip Herzog, who made wine in Slovakia for the Austro-Hungarian court more than a century ago. Philip's wines were so appreciated by Emperor Franz-Josef, that the emperor made Philip a baron."

Philip's grandson Eugene had to move his family around quite a bit during World War II to hide from the Nazis, only to be run out of Czechoslovakia by the communists. He brought his family to New York in 1948 and started working for a kosher winery that paid him in company stock. Within ten years all the other stockholders had given up on it, leaving Eugene as the last man standing. He and his sons then formed Royal Wines as a tribute to Philip. 

Expansion to Southern California happened in 1985, but it was a couple of decades before they would build their present state of the art facility. Head winemaker Joe Hurliman leads the kosher facility and produces wines in the tradition of the Jewish people. 

The 2021 Baron Herzog California Rosé is made from, I believe, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.  The information I could find online was sketchy at best, shelf talker at worst.  Some sites list "rosé" as the varietal.  Rosé is a style, not a grape.  Alcohol is restrained, at only 12.0% abv and the wine sells for about $15.  It is kosher for Passover, which begins on April 15, 2022.

This salmon-pink wine has a subdued nose which offers scents of cherry, raspberry and a hint of minerals.  The palate is tasty and dry, with flavors of red fruit and a cranberry note that does not lean into tartness.  Acidity is a little light, but there is enough there to handle easy pairings.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Four Great Pink Wines For Spring - Or Anytime

Wine importers are important.  Good ones can sniff out the good stuff and bring it to us from all over the world.  Mack and Schühle are Miami-based importers who find great wine and pass it along at a price that is more than fair.  Founded in 1939, the company expanded to the Miami office a number of years ago.  They produce wine in Italy and Spain and distribute other wines globally.

Here are a few pink wines found by Mack and Schühle which would fit nicely on anyone's porch or patio.

Mosketto Frizzante Rosato NV

This fun, pink wine comes from the Vino d'Italia appellation, from grapes grown in Piedmont.  It's a blend of 80% Moscato and 20% Brachetto grapes which the distributor says is produced in a "modified Martinotti method."  Fermentation is stopped to keep the alcohol low and the fruit fresh.  Alcohol content is only 5.5% abv - a real summer sipper - and the wine retails for $12.

This wine is very sweet, very low in alcohol and as drinkable as it gets.  There is no brain-stumping complexity here, just sweet, simple sipping pleasure.  The Moscato/Brachetto blend is a wine of Italy, one that shows sweet floral aromas and sweet peaches on the palate.  Acidity is fairly low, but the wine pours frizzante and will be suitable for spicy or salty dishes.

Art of Earth Organic Rosé 2019 comes from Michigan negociant Woodberry Wine.  They produce wines from Germany, Spain, Argentina, Italy and this one, from France.

The appellation is Vin de France - I don't have any more specific sourcing for the vines - and the organic grapes are 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah.  The wine has alcohol at 13% abv and a sticker price of $14.

This beautiful, pale salmon-colored wine has a nose which is just as gorgeous - melon, cherry and strawberry aromas dominate, with a little herbal angle in the mix.  Herbs become more focused on the palate, which carries a nice tartness along with the racy acidity.  There is a grapefruit flavor draping the red fruit and adding to the freshness.  It's a really great, and complex, rosé. 

The 2020 Fête de Fleurs Rosé was made in the heart of the AOC Côtes de Provence Region by a cooperative of a hundred local winegrowers, Maîtres Vignerons de Vidauban.  It was formed 110 years ago in the spirit of rosé, the raison d'etre of Provence.  The terroir features the stony galet soil for which the area is known and the vintage was blessed with dry mistral winds.

The importer says the wine is released each year in time for the French celebration of Springtime, the Fete des Fleurs or Festival of Flowers.  The grapes involved are 40% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, 10% Carignane, 10% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre and 2% Rolle.  It was aged on the lees, or sur lie, carries alcohol at 13% abv - possibly as low as 11.5% - and it sells for $19.

The Acquesi Brachetto DOC Piemonte is a spumante, or sparkling wine, made from 100% Brachetto grapes grown in the Monferrato area of Piedmont.  The wine carries a very low alcohol content of 6.5% abv and a retail suggestion of $18, although it is usually lower.

This wine colors up in the beautiful garnet red for which Brachetto is famous, and it has a layer of fine, light violet bubbles atop it, which are quite long lasting.  The nose is rich with cherries, strawberries, red currant, flowers and an earthy element - an absolutely wonderful collection of aromas.  The palate is sweet with a cherry pie flavor and baking spices, all rolled into a candy treat.  The acidity is very nice.  While the winery calls this a dessert wine - it is, really - it also pairs nicely with dessert favorites like anisette cookies, chocolates or apricot tarts.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Rosé From Uruguay

A recent visit to Las Vegas found the wife and I taking her mother to lunch on the strip, at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab in Caesars Palace.  There, I chanced upon a wine from Uruguay.

Uruguay is located about halfway down South America's South Atlantic coastline, between Brazil and Argentina.  

Bodega Garzon is in the seaside town of Maldonado.  It was named by Wine Enthusiast as the New World Winery of the Year a few years ago.  Their website shows pictures of a winery so modern that it could rival the elegance of any in the world.  I had the rosé.

I do not know if this was the Garzon Riserva Rosé or the Pinot Rosé de Corte.  Whichever, it was all Pinot Noir, aged in stainless steel for three to six months.

The wine showed a nice salmon color in the glass and a nose of earthy strawberry and cherry.  The acidity was nice, if not overwhelming, and the wine was quite dry.  I paired it with Joe's Chilean sea bass and it was delicious.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

The Future Of Italian Rosé?

The Antinori family is widely known in Italy as a great source for wine, since they've been producing it for more than six centuries.  They are reportedly the 10th oldest family-owned company in the world.  If they decide to make a wine, it’s difficult to carve out a reason not to try it.

They are hitting rosé season right in stride, with the Tormaresca Calafuria Rosato Salento IGT 2020.  Tormaresca was founded in 1998 by Marchesi Antinori, and it was named after the old seaside towers in Puglia.  Calafuria refers to the bays of the Puglia region.  This pink wine is made from Negroamaro grapes which were grown at the Masseria Maime estate in Salento, Puglia.  The alcohol is an easy-drinking 12% abv and the retail price is $15.

Tormaresca’s brand manager, Vito Palumbo, says he is seeing "a shift away from traditional Italian grapes to those which are lesser known."  He feels that Negroamaro is poised to be the next big thing in the current emergence of Italian rosé wines.  

The wine is beautiful enough, but the label is an eye-catcher as well, designed by illustrator Valeria Petrone.  The image is said to be that of a woman dreaming of Puglia.

This pink wine’s nose is laden with ripe, red fruit - cherries, strawberries - and a touch of citrus - lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit.  There is also an herbal note, a sort of greenness than leans into minerality.  The palate brings the red fruit first, followed by the citrus.  The acidity is great, and the mouthfeel is quite full - it drinks like a red wine.  If Negroamaro is the future of rosé, bring it on.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Sonoma County Rosé Of Pinot Noir

Sonoma-Cutrer says they don't follow only Old World or New World winemaking procedures.  They say they "marry Burgundian practices with Californian innovation and a deep appreciation of the Sonoma County terroir" to come up with their wines.  You'll find Sonoma-Cutrer in Windsor, California, between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg in Sonoma wine country.

The 2020 Sonoma-Cutrer Rosé of Pinot Noir is labeled as Grower - Vintner from the Russian River Valley.  The 100% Pinot Noir grapes that went into the bottle came from Vine Hill Ranch and the winery's Owsley estate.  Winemaker Mick Schroeter puts his signature on the label, and he can certainly be proud to do so.  Alcohol ticks the meter at 11.9% abv and the retail price is $25.

This wine's nose is really fruity - full of fresh strawberries, cherries and a hint of raspberry.  The palate is delish.  The fruit dominates, with minerality and citrus peel filling it out.  The acidity is bright and fresh, but is just a tad laid back.  The light salmon color is beautiful.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Pink In Provence: Love By Leoube

Most of the wine made in France's Provence region is pink.  It's what they do - they make wonderfully dry and crisp rosé wines.  I was recently supplied with several examples of Provencal pinkies, and this is one of them.

Love by Léoube 2017 is a Côtes de Provence wine blended by Romain Ott for Love Wine, a wine merchant in Jersey in the Channel Islands.  The store was founded by Chris Rogers - first as an e-commerce site, later as a brick-and-mortar outlet.  Château Léoube is located in the commune of Bormes-les-Mimosas.  

The rosé wine is made from Grenache and Cinsault grapes, pressed directly and fermented in stainless steel tanks.  Alcohol hits a restrained 13% abv, and the retail price is about $15.

This wine looks beautiful in the glass - medium pink, leaning towards orange.  The nose is fruity and laced with minerals.  Big strawberry and cherry notes are abetted by lemon and orange peel.  The palate is flinty and dry with a racy acidity and a long finish laced with citrus.  Pair it with fish or chicken, or with turkey or ham. 

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

A Rosé Wine For Summer

The lion on the Hess label represents the winery and its founder Donald Hess.  Hess staked out a claim on Napa's Mount Veeder in the 1970s, when there was still room to move around.  He retired in 2011 and passed the torch to the fifth generation of the family to carry on old traditions and forge new ones.  Dave Guffy is only the second person to lead the winemaking team at Hess.

The 2019 Hess Select rosé was made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes grown in the Hess estate vineyards and in several other California appellations.  The wine was fermented in stainless steel and has an alcohol level of 13.5% abv.  It sells for only $12.

This rosé wine is a shade of salmon that leans more into pink than orange.  The breezy nose gives a lovely show of cherry and strawberry aromas, with a bit of salinity peeking through.  The palate brings plenty of cherry fruit into play with a bracing acidity.  Citrus lingers on the finish.  Pair this with salads and seafood for sure, but if you have a pork chop on the grill, unscrew the cap.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Rosé, From Lodi

Whenever I get to take a trip - virtually - to Lodi, I jump at the chance.  John Fogerty may have been "stuck in Lodi," but he should have visited a winery or two.  That would have brightened his view of the locale.

Oak Farm Vineyards is my stop on this virtual vacation.  I took part in a July conversation with Oak Farm's co-owner and Director of Winemaking, Dan Panella.  The get-together was held on Zoom, where everything else also seems to be held in these pandemic times.

Panella talked about his family's three-generation farming claim at Oak Farm, which in Lodi is practically newcomer status.  He spoke of his fondness for the Italian and Spanish grape varieties found on his estate and reminisced about his younger days driving a tractor through the cherry and walnut orchards.  He turned the business into the wine arena in 2004.

Oak Farm itself was founded in 1860, with the Panella family coming along in the 1930s.  Today, Panella and head winemaker Sierra Zieter manage a diverse portfolio of wines.  Oak Farms is in Lodi's Mokelumne River appellation

Oak Farm Vineyards Rosé 2018

The Oak Farm Vineyards Rosé is made from an equal share of estate-grown Sangiovese and Barbera grapes.  It is produced as if it were a white wine, not as the bleed-off by-product of red wine.  Aaron Shinn manages the vineyard and takes suggestions from the winemaker on how best to grow the vines.  The rosé went through stainless steel aging, carries alcohol at 13%  and retails for $26.

The Oak Farm rosé has a lively nose full of cherry and strawberry aromas, with some citrus minerality and a floral note also in the mix.  The palate brings red fruit and tropical notes with a pleasant salinity and a zippy acidity.


Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

A Rioja Rosé For The Summer Of Separation

Rosé season, if there really is such a thing, is in full swing despite pandemic measures.  Social distancing is designed to help stem the growth of the virus in our communities, and it really puts a wet blanket over a backyard party, or so I hear.  But rosé is made for backyard parties.

I bellow so much about how pink wines are great any time of year that I’m starting to feel like the old rosado codger.  Rosé wines are as good in December as they are in June.  But since it’s June, let’s have a glass on the patio.  Six feet apart.

The Beronia Rioja Rosé was made from 70% Tempranillo grapes and 30% Garnacha.  Previous vintages had sometimes been heavier on the Garnacha.  Alcohol is easy going and so is the retail price - $13.

I pick up a lot of herbal influence along with some terrific strawberry and cherry aromas.  The fruit plays large on the palate, too.  There is a ton of minerality and a hint of pepper in the sip.  Acidity is fresh, nearly ripping, and the finish is all about the red fruit.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Bonny Doon's Pink Wine Of The Earth

From Bonny Doon Vineyard comes the 2019 Vin Gris De Cigare.  The winery's flagship pink wine is named for the reported alien spacecraft "banned by decree of the village council of Châteauneuf-du-Pape." The flying cigars may not be allowed to land in France, but they land in my place a lot. They are welcome visitors from another appellation far, far away. Well, just a bit north of me, anyway.  Their rosé is a favorite of mine.

The grapes for Vin Gris De Cigare were grown in Central Coast AVA - 79% Grenache, 5% Grenache Gris, 5% Grenache Blanc, 5% Vermentino, 3% Cinsault, 1.5% Picpoul and 1.5% Clairette Blanche.  Vineyards include Rava, Loma Del Rio and Alta Loma of Monterey County, Steinbeck of Paso Robles and Beeswax of the Arroyo Seco AVA.

Winemaker Randall Grahm says "the Grenache dominates this blend."  He continues the practice of leaving the wine on its lees post-fermentation.  Grahm feels that the spent yeast cells give a "wonderful creaminess and length" to the wine.  This rosé is not made in the saignée method, where juice is bled off in the process of making red wine.  The grapes were selected and used specifically for this wine. The iconic label art is from an 1855 edition of Bordeaux Chateau, with a spaceship courtesy of Jules Verne, circa 1870.  The wine hits 13.5% abv and sells for $15.

This pink wine's nose is dominated by strawberry, melon and tropical notes.  Graham says a suggestion of cassis and grapefruit is possibly a function of the cooler 2019 vintage.  On the palate, the wine has heft, a discernible weight I don't usually find in rosés.  There is a creaminess, too, owing to the time it spent sitting on its expended yeast cells.  The savory hallmarks of Graham's wines shine through, but the fruit is the star.  Despite the full mouthfeel, acidity is quite fine.  The finish is lengthy and somewhat citrusy.


Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Wines That Give Back

During this time of self-isolation and quarantine, there are many stories coming out about how people cope with the "new normal."  Restaurants are dishing out their fare as take-out at the curb to masked drivers who speed back to the safety of their homes.  Gathering with friends at a bar is a memory.  Winery tasting rooms are silent and producers from small to large are trying to stay afloat by going online with their sales efforts.

There is a wine company that strives to give something back to the health care community, the people we all depend on to get us through the pandemic.

Ripe Life Wines has a special going on concerning their line called The Clambake.  For every case of wine purchased (12 bottles), the company will send two complimentary bottles of wine to the customer's  health care worker of choice to thank them for their service.  They are also offering free shipping to everyone.  Ripe Life founder Mary McAuley says the thrust of the special offer is to keep people home and out of the stores to help flatten the COVID-19 curve.

McAuley claims she was inspired to make The Clambake wines after failing to find exactly what she wanted for her friends' annual clambake on the Jersey shore.  So she made the wines herself the next year.  That alone should make her Friend of the Year.  McAuley used Mendocino grapes to fashion an unoaked Chardonnay and a fresh and floral Carignan rosé.  McAuley says both are perfect for clambakes or any type of seafood, whether you are on the shore or landlocked.

The 2017 Clambake Unoaked Chardonnay is labeled as Batch No. 5.  It was made from 100% Chardonnay grapes, grown in Potter Valley, Mendocino - the Paulin Red Post Ranch Vineyard.

This Chardonnay saw no oak while being made, so it's as clean and as bright as you like.  The nose offers a beautiful lemon aroma with a salinity that reminds of an ocean spray.  Lemons, apples and a fantastic acidity are on the palate.  It was made for a clambake, but it will be just as much at home with crabs or lobsters.

The 2017 Clambake Limited Edition Rosé - Batch No. 4 - hails from Mendocino County's Zaina- Sargentini Family Vineyard.  It is made entirely of Carignan grapes taken from old vines that grow in the plot's gravelly loam soil.  No oak treatment was mentioned on the company's website, but they do say that the pink wine goes with lobster claws as well as sweet ears of corn.

This rosé shows off a deep, rich color for a pink shade - it looks almost like bourbon in the glass.  The nose is complex, with vibrant cherry leading the way, some strawberry coming along and a distinct earthy element that is quite enticing.  It smells like it was made for the outdoors.  The palate is generously fruity, with some peppery notes.   Also, there is a racy acidity that calls for the lobsters, crabs, clams, and whatever else you have in the pot.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Pink Wine From Under The Saint-Tropez Sun

Château Minuty promises their rosé wine contains all the good that's found "under the Saint Tropez sun."  The estate has been in the Matton-Farnet family for 80 years, overlooking the Saint-Tropez peninsula.

The winery says the grapes for 2019 Minuty Prestige Côtes de Provence - Grenache, Cinsault, Tibouren and Syrah - were grown in "a rigorous selection of the best Côtes de Provence vineyards."  Three of those grape varieties are familiar friends, but Tibouren - also known as Rossese di Dolceacqua in Italy's Liguria region - may not be on everyone's radar.  Tibouren has a highly aromatic quality which centers on earthiness.  It is believed to have come from Greece or the Middle East, introduced to France through Marseille or Saint-Tropez.  Alcohol is a restrained 12.5% abv and I see it selling at a lot of places for $18.

This barely-peach-pink wine is loaded with nose - cherries and berries for days with a hint of earth from the south of France.  The palate is also fruity, and juicy to boot.  Easy acidity will pair well with the usual salad and seafood suspects, but it's not exactly a mouthful of pins and needles.  Quite a nice Provençal pinkie, just what we expect.  It will play very nicely under the spring and summer sun wherever you are. 


Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Wines That Give Back

During this time of self-isolation and quarantine, there are many stories coming out about how people cope with the "new normal."  Restaurants are dishing out their fare as take-out at the curb to masked drivers who speed back to the safety of their homes.  Gathering with friends at a bar is a memory.  Winery tasting rooms are silent and producers from small to large are trying to stay afloat by going online with their sales efforts.

One story caught my eye this week, about a wine company that strives to give something back to the health care community, the people we all depend on to get us through the pandemic.

Ripe Life Wines has a special going on concerning their line called The Clambake.  For every case of wine purchased (12 bottles), the company will send two complimentary bottles of wine to the customer's  health care worker of choice to thank them for their service.  They are also offering free shipping to everyone. 

Ripe Life founder Mary McAuley says the thrust of the special offer is to keep people home and out of the stores to help flatten the COVID-19 curve.

McAuley claims she was inspired to make The Clambake wines after failing to find exactly what she wanted for her friends' annual clambake on the Jersey shore.  She did what anyone would do if they had the talent - she made the wines herself the next year.  She used Mendocino grapes to fashion an unoaked Chardonnay and a fresh and floral Carignan rosé.  McAuley says both are perfect for clambakes or any type of seafood, whether you are on the shore or landlocked.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

A Nice Rosé From Hess

The grapes for the inaugural release of the Hess Select Rosé 2019 were specifically sourced and harvested to produce this debut wine.  The grapes were fermented in stainless steel, without oak influence in order to accentuate the crisp and expressive flavors.

Hess winemaker Dave Guffy says the pink wine goes best with food, and he recommends that you have yours with "sweet and salty combinations, like a prosciutto and melon salad."  The appellation appears on the label as "California," which doesn't tell us much about its origin.  Also, the winery seems tight-lipped about what grape varieties make up the wine, although I’m guessing it’s Pinot Noir.  The wine hits only 13.5% abv and sells for $12.

This salmon colored wine passes the "pretty test" - the first hurdle for any rosé - with no trouble.  The sniff test holds a bit of funky fruit.  Rather than simply ripe strawberries, there is a savory angle that is quite enticing.  The palate follows that path, but allows a bit more of the fruit to shine through.  It is a pleasant pinkie, with more than enough acidity for pairing with the usual suspects.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Vinho Verde Comes In Pink, Too

The Vinho Verde wine region in northern Portugal is home to some of the best white wines this side of Albariño.  Vinho Verde means, "green wine," which is not a color reference but a suggestion that the wine is quite youthful.  The white wines of Vinho Verde typically have a wonderful acidity and a slightly fizzy nature.  The lower alcohol content makes them great choices for summer sipping by the pool, but they work quite well as aperitifs at holiday parties and pair graciously with cheese plates or pasta.

Enoport United Wines has nearly 20 different brands under its Portuguese umbrella.  The name Faisão is derived from the word for a pheasant that was brought from Asia to Portugal in the middle ages.  The bird's brightly colored plumage references the hue in the bottle of the 2018 Enoport Faisão Rosé.

Winemaker Nuno Faria blended Espadeiro, Borraçal and Padeiro grapes to make this fizzy, pink wine.  I don’t think I have ever had any of those grapes before.  The grapes were completely destemmed before being crushed, which keeps the focus on the fruit and minimizes herbal notes.  Alcohol is quite low at just 10.5% abv, and the price is close to rock bottom as well, at less than $10.

This wine pours up salmon pink and fizzy in the glass.  The bubbles dissipate quickly, but they are surprising and fun.  Aromas of a wet driveway hit the nose first, a sure sign of minerality.  There are fruity raspberry and cherry notes as well as a whiff of flowers.  On the palate, raspberry and cherry flavors dominate, with a touch of lime.  The acidity is surprisingly low, but the wine sure is tasty.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Dry Rose For Fall

Murrieta's Well Estate Vineyard, in California's Livermore Valley, has a history almost as long and rich as the state of California itself.  The vines of the Murrieta's Well estate were first planted in 1884 by Louis Mel with cuttings from Chateau d'Yquem and Chateau Margaux, says the winery.  Mel sold the property, lock, stock and wine barrel, to Ernest Wente in the 1930s, and it's still part of the Wente Family estate.  Today, winemaker Robbie Meyer personally selects grapes from all over the five hundred acres. 

He says there is "nothing quite like growing fruit in the vineyard, caring for it in the winery and crafting it into something people can enjoy."  That something, says Snooth, is food-friendly wine, the stuff of which Meyer prides himself with making.  Through the growing, the harvesting and the fermentation, Meyer says blending is where he sees the real art of winemaking.

The grapes for the 2018 Murrieta's Well Dry Rosé was made from Livermore Valley fruit - 42% Counoise, 33% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre - pulled from their estate vineyards, Hayes and Raboli.  Those grapes were grown, picked and fermented specifically for rosé.  The fruit was whole-cluster pressed, vinified in stainless steel tanks and aged in them for two months. 

Meyer said during a recent Snooth virtual tasting event that he loves Grenache for rosé.  He feels that Counoise mates with Grenache perfectly.  He accentuates the fruit-forward aspect of the grapes in this pink wine.  He calls it a "substantial" rosé, one to be paired with food which is heftier than a salad.  He's thinking of butternut squash and other autumn vegetables.  The wine has alcohol at 13.5% abv and it retails for $32.

Fresh strawberries and cherries burst forth from the nose, with more of the same on the palate. The acidity is fresh and vibrant.  This pale salmon rosé comes at the end of "rosé season," but hang onto a bottle or two for Thanksgiving.  It is substantial enough for fall veggies, or turkey.


Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Provence Is For Rosé

Provence's Chateau Roubine is one of only fourteen wineries in the Cotes de Provence region which has earned the esteemed "Cru Classe" designation.  Vigneron Valerie Rousselle bought the estate in 1994 and now grows more than a dozen different French grape varieties in the chalky, clay-limestone soil.

Their 2018 La Rose features 50% Grenache grapes, 35% Cinsault, 10% Syrah and 5% Tibouren.  The latter grape is reportedly often used in rosés of the Provence region, but I've never run across it.  The grapes were macerated for a scant three hours to give the wine its soft pink hue.  Alcohol reports in at 13% abv and the wine retails for $24.  A sample was provided to me by distributor Quintessential Wines.

This Provençal rosé has herbal and floral notes on the nose, with fennel-laced strawberries and cherries.  The palate is gorgeous, with the red fruit abetted by a savory salinity.  The acidity is somewhat tame, but the flavor and finish are a real treat.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Rosés For Spring: Rosa Regale

Hey, is it rosé season already?  Maybe it creeps up on me because it's always rosé season at my place.  We are taking a couple of weeks to spotlight some worthy pink wines which will help get us in the swing for spring.

Italian wine brand Banfi resides in an 18th century winery purchased in 1979 by John and Harry Mariani.  That's where Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui D.O.C.G. is made.  It's a sweet, sparkling wine made from the Brachetto grape.  The winery says it was cherished by the courts of Europe over two centuries ago, and  Banfi brought it back.

The Brachetto grapes were grown in the La Rosa Vineyard in the town of Acqui Terme, in the Piedmont region of Italy.  The label features a red rose, which is said to represent the wine's single-vineyard origin.  Two to three days maceration gives the 2016 wine its deep color and keeps the alcohol at a low, low 7% abv.  It sells for about $18.

The wine is a bit fizzy and colors up into a nice reddish brown plum color.  The nose offers red flowers and raspberries while the palate is sweet with strawberry, cherry and earth.  Rosa Regale has about half the alcohol of a typical wine, so it makes a great sipper for the porch or backyard.  Banfi suggests pairing it with prosciutto-wrapped dates.

Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

This Rosé Is Not Fragile

From the IGP Côtes Catalanes region in Languedoc-Roussillon, in southern France, Fragile Rosé is a blend of Grenache, Carignane, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes.  The Department 66 wine is made by Dave Phinney, who says he fell in love with the land around Maury on his first visit there.  He says the black soil is full of schist, granite and limestone.  Phinney fell in love not only with the dirt, but also the people, so much so that he has a home there. 

The 2017 Fragile is made largely from Grenache grapes with small percentages of Syrah and Carignan in the blend.  It was vinified in stainless steel tanks.  Alcohol hits a high-for-rosé 15.3% abv and the wine retails for $18.

Fragile - I don't believe it’s pronounced frah-ghee-lay - has a big, bright nose full of big, bright red fruit.  A bit of heat pokes its head through, too, owing to the 15% alcohol content.  That cherry-red fruit comes through on the palate as well, with a boatload of acidity to boot.  The winery notes say Fragile pairs well with lighter fare and warm, sunny days.  I'd have it with pork chops in a heartbeat. 


Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter

Rosés For Spring: One Of The Better Bargains

Hey, is it rosé season already?  Maybe it creeps up on me because it's always rosé season at my place.  We are taking a couple of weeks to spotlight some worthy pink wines which will help get us in the swing for spring.

We covered the Perrin family last time, along with their French winemaking company which includes the noted Château de Beaucastel of the Rhône Valley.  The La Vieille Ferme label - it means "the old farm" - houses a bubbly rosé as well as a very nice still rosé wine.

La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2018

This cheap pink wine was vinified in stainless steel before bottling.  the grapes - Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah - were grown "high on the slopes," but the winery does not say where those slopes are.  Alcohol clicks in at 13% abv and the price tag sits below $10. 

This 2018 bargain rosé is light salmon pink in the glass.  The nose shows red fruit with herbal notes.  There is plenty of fruit on the palate, strawberry and cherry, with a light minerality and easy acidity.  The finish is short, but fruity.


Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter