This week's tasting in The Wine Bar is all about Rosé. Don't believe everything you hear about it (stinky pinky, it's all white zinfandel, it's all sweet, etc...) Rosé's are some of the most complex, delicious, and driest wines out there.
All 5 wines featured, all for $15 per person!
Schramsberg Brut Rosé is flavorful, complex and dry, making it both versatile with food and delicious by itself as an apéritif. The character of the wine is most strongly influenced by bright, flavorful Pinot Noir grown in Carneros, Anderson Valley, and the Sonoma and Marin coastal areas. A few small lots of Pinot Noir are fermented in contact with their skins to add depth and subtle color to this unique sparkling wine. Chardonnay gives spice, structure and length on the palate.
Hand picking, careful handling and gentle pressing produce a wine of delicacy, free of skin and seed tannin. Following the fall harvest and base winemaking period, an extensive process of blending trial and refinement is carried out in the spring. The finished blend is aged on the yeast in the bottle for about two years, just enough to achieve refined effervescence and toastiness without diminishing its refreshing, vibrant appeal.
Enjoy this rich, delicious sparkler on almost any occasion: at your favorite restaurant, a special dinner at home, at a beach picnic or a backyard barbecue. A very versatile wine, try it with sushi, salmon, rock shrimp, pizza, roast chicken, BBQ ribs, burgers,chocolate raspberry tarts and creamy cheeses with summer fruits.
Artazuri Garnacha Rose from Navarra, Spain - The tiny village of Artazu is located in the Navarra DO, which lies in northeastern Spain between France and the Pyrenees to the northeast and Rioja and the Ebro river valley to the southwest. Navarra is affected by Atlantic and Mediterranean maritime influences, and in addition the region benefits from the cold winds of the Pyrenees. Long under the shadow of Rioja and its Tempranillo-based wines, Navarra has in recent years shown itself beautifully suited to producing exceptional Garnacha-based wines, and often at fantastically affordable prices.
Artazu, the winery project, was created by Juan Carlos López de la Calle, founder of Rioja’s world-renowned Artadi estate. Juan Carlos’ goal was to create wines with great varietal purity outside of Rioja and Artazu was chosen for its extraordinary old vine Garnacha (Grenache in France) vineyards. The soil consists of limestone with alternating layers of red clay and rainfall in the region is quite moderate. Their “Artazuri” line up is one of the world’s great value lines and offers tremendous bang for the buck. Their 80-100 year old single vineyard “Santa Cruz de Artazu” Garnacha is a top level Garnacha that competes with high-end Garnacha-based wines the world over.
Artazu’s “Artazuri” rosé from is made exclusively from old vine Grenacha and produced using the saignée method of bleeding off juice after minimal contact with red grape skins. Lively, clear pink in color, it boasts loads of strawberry, orange peel and limestone scents that reappear on the palate. The attack is rich with elegant, ripe strawberry fruit and thirst quenching citrus notes that are accompanied by mineral and white pepper nuances that are wonderfully woven to the wine’s vibrant acidity. This medium- to full-bodied rosé is truly impressive. Serve with steamed shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce, steamed crab, grilled fish, roast chicken or char-grilled burgers slathered in barbecue sauce.
Mas de Gourgonnier, Les Baux de Provence, Roquefort Rose – Provence - A deep, extracted blend of nearly equal parts, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Cinsault, this rosé from Les Baux in Provence has wonderfully rich flavors of red berries spiced with herbs and a brilliant almost citrusy acidity. In the wines of Les Baux, I can imagine that I can smell the olive trees that dot the hillsides stretching for miles in every direction and likewise these wines are always natural partners for any dish made with fresh, flavorful EVOO.
Kamen, Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley - The Kamen 2007 Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon is a delightful, refreshing wine that is a brilliant deep ruby in color. Aromas of fresh, well-ripened strawberries and cream with hints of cranberries and just-crushed grapes, the wine has multiple layers of flavors, an enticing minerality with rich, mid-palate and clean, bright finish. The Kamen Rosé is delicious to sip on its own or is a wonderful complement to food. Only 150 cases made each year.
Banfi, Rosa Regale – Dolce Sparkling Rose - Rosa Regale is a unique red sparkling wine. Aromatic with a hint of rose petals and raspberries, Rosa Regale is delightfully vivacious and festive.
While it is appreciated as one of the few wines in the world that truly marries well with chocolate, especially dark or bittersweet, its charms extend across a palette of occasions and food pairings, from savory to sweet.
On its own Rosa Regale is an elegant aperitif. Its fruity character beguiles the heat of spicy Asian and Latino fare, and its gentle acidity is an ideal foil to the piquant richness of goat cheese, especially in a spring mix salad with almonds and cranberries. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chocolate truffles and hazelnut tortes are all elevated by this frothy wine.
In 1979, John and Harry Mariani, family proprietors of Banfi Vintners, acquired a mid-18th century winery, known as Bruzzone, revitalized it and renamed the facility Vigne Regali. Here, with the same detailed care as a century ago, our skilled winemakers produce "Rosa Regale" Brachetto d'Acqui D.O.C.G., from the La Rosa single vineyard. This rare Brachetto, a semi-dry, red sparkling wine cherished by the Courts of Europe two centuries ago, owes its reincarnation to Banfi.
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