Quick Sip: 2008 Sancerre Rosé, finding French pinot outside Bourgogne

Domaine André Neveu Sancerre Rosé (2008)
Domaine André Neveu
Pinot Noir
Sancerre, Loire Valley, France

Image borrowed from the 2007 vintage.

Another from our Loire tasting. This is the first time I've had Sancerre rosé, a region well known for it's crisp, grassy sauvignon blanc.

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WBW #66: Your Tenderest Two-Some, Dessert & Wine

Argyle Brut Rosé (2007)
Argyle Winery
52% Pinot Meunier | 48% Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills, OR

So today is Wine Blogging Wednesday #66 which is being hosted by Jennifer Hamilton, The Domestic Goddess. Combining two of my favorite things, Jennifer has joined WBW with Sugar-High Friday for today's challenge. We were asked to come up with a dessert and wine pairing.

Desserts can sometimes be difficult to pair with wines, and I think many of us first just jump to sweeter wines. Rule of thumb there is to make sure your wine is as sweet of not sweeter than your dessert, otherwise it'll taste sour. Also keep in mind tangy/tart flavors vs. savory/milky ones in your desserts. Based on that (is it apple pie or chocolate mousse?) you'll want to pay attention to the wine's acidity.

Since I tend to gravitate towards more acidic wines, and away from overly-chocolate'd (I know, there's not supposed to be such a thing... just think, more chocolate for you!) desserts my thoughts got a little bubbly. Lucky for us, Argyle is less than 30 minutes from here!

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Quick-Sip: Think Pink, part 1

Cristalino Rosé Brut (NV)
Bodegas Juame Serra
Pinot Noir 60% | Trepat 40%
Cava (Costers del Segre or Conca de Barberá D.O.)

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Quick-Sip: Spanish pink bubbles

Pinot Noir Brut (NV)
Codorníu
Pinot Noir
D.O. Cava

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un petit séjour à la cote d'azur

Sunday was another epically gorgeous summer day here in Cleveland. I really don't know what we've done to deserve such a great summer this year. Regardless, it was the perfect setting for a poolside wine tasting with a good number of the folks from Bonjour Cleveland!, the French language Meet-up group I run.

Exploring the wine regions of France since February, our glasses have traveled nearly everywhere - Burgundy, Bordeaux, Alsace, Champagne, and the Loire. This month the group chose to sample the wines of southern France including Provence, Languedoc, and Roussilon (often considered together with the Languedoc). Hosted by George at his lovely home in the village of Chagrin Falls (quel drôle nom, eh?) we were anything but chagrined by the gorgeous garden, the sunny skies, and the lovely wines of the Côte d'Azur. (Note- technically the Côte d'Azur runs from Italy just into the Provence region... but hey, it sounds nice!)

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A rosé to kick all other rosés in the teeth

Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé (2008)
Miguel Torres
Cabernet Sauvignon
Central Valley, Chile

Right now, at this very moment, you should be utterly jealous not to be me...

This afternoon has been utterly fantastic. After a week of rain here in Cleveland we had the quintessential July 4th weekend. Sunny, not humid, clear blue skies, and puffy white clouds. This never happens in northern Ohio. This afternoon was spent having a potluck picnic with my ever-entertaining French language group (Bonjour Cleveland) and playing pétanque (similar to bocce ball, mais en français) in a large grassy field. I think my bald spot may have gotten a little too much sun, but other than that it was perfect.

That all said, the primary reason behind your necessary jealousness is that after all that, I'm now sitting at home - and yes it's still sunny - sipping on an utterly fantastic glass of Cabernet Sauvignon rosé from Chile. The perfect way to start winding down my evening.

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Just say no to red + white = rosé!

Just a brief post to bring this news to attention. I'm going to re-vamp and discuss more in depth later when I have time. Currently I'm just delighted to see tradition upheld.

EU no goes blending red and white wines to produce rosés

Cheers!

stop hating on rosés!

Les Jamelles Cinsault Rosé (2007)
Les Jamelles
Cinsault
Pays d'Oc, France

So Valentine's Day is this weekend, and like so many others I'm writing about rosés. Other than their pink color - gotten from letting the juice sit on the red skins very briefly - I don't really know what other relation or connection can be made to this holiday, but I do know one thing - I'm sick and tired of people trashing rosé! Now that might seem a little stand-offish, but seriously, these people need to knock it off. And apologies if you're one of them, but keep reading friends!

Let me say that I get the perception that some people have - "All rosés are sweet, and I don't like sweet wine." Thanks to Sutter Home, American minds have been tainted by gallons and gallons of White Zinfandel, and now anytime someone sees rosé that's their first thought. They clearly had a brilliant marketing team behind them to get that kind of product association, and if White Zin is all you drink then cheers to you too!

However, for any non-sweet drinkers, it's time to cut rosés some slack and belly up to the bar, so to speak. Oh, and just because it's pink doesn't mean it's a girly wine either - in fact this bottle of Cinsault might be one of the "manliest" pink wines I've had!

Appearance: A clear wine, pink in color near salmon. Pale in intensity.

Nose: Clean, with medium intensity, and youthful aromas. Apple, raspberry, cherry, and pomegranate dominate the nose. Some stony minerality, strawberry, and rose round things out.

Palate: A dry, medium bodied wine with zingy acidity - mouth watering and refreshing. Medium intensity flavors of red cherry, apple, raspberry, and soft oak. Very slight fruit tannins that only linger for a moment.

Being a high-yielding, thick-skinned grape that is drought resistant, Cinsault is a big performer in the South of France (southern Rhône, and Languedoc-Roussillon regions) and it has also found a home in Africa, Australia, and the US. Typically blended with other local varieties it is a deep red wine that boasts a lot of fruit, and smooths other harsher wines out.

It is also used to make some outstanding dry rosés, wines that southern France should best be known for. With crisp, refreshing acidity these wines are perfectly fit for seafood and warm weather. This bottle of Jamelles was the perfect fit for a mushroom and Gruyere pizza I got at Fire Food & Drink, a local favorite. The wine cut through the saltiness, and complimented the earthy mushrooms and sweet caramelized onions splendidly.

Historically rosés are meant to be dry - white Zin was a lucky mistake - and can range from light and easy to very complex wines. For the doubters out there I can also recommend rosés produced from Grenache, Sangiovese, and Syrah. Here are some of my favorites:

Barnard Griffin Rose Of Sangiovese (WA)
Trentadue Winery Grenache Rose, Monte Lago Vineyards (CA)
Tsantali Roditis (Greece)
Château Pavie Macquin Rosé (BDX, FR)

Hope this has inspired - or at least goaded - you to run out and find a rosé to try. Sure, I maintain not everyone is going to enjoy them, but don't write them off before you've tried them all!

Cheers!