PrintStop to smell (and sip) these perfect rosés
Let's be honest: Many American wine lovers, including this one, cut their palates on rosé wines like Lancer's, Mateus, and Riunite Lambrusco — all of them fizzy, all of them sweet, all of them real cheap.
Courtesy Bob Sinsky
Robert Sinsky's Vin Gris of Pint Noir
Indeed, I recall the moment I decided I had become a sophisticate when I broke out a bottle of rosé d'Anjou, which was neither fizzy nor sweet, for a "serious date." That bottle must have cost me at least $4.
Like me, most wine lovers grow up to relegate rosé wines to some unvisited limbo between whites and reds.
The rosés are consigned to summer, which is not a bad thing at all because they tend to be easy drinking wines that are fairly low in alcohol, are served chilled in hot weather, and go well with just about anything cooked on the outdoor grill.
Good rosés are made by crushing red grapes and allowing the skins to be in short contact — eight to 48 hours — with the juice to obtain a pink or salmonlike color.
Lesser rosés are made just by adding some red wine to white.
In Spain rosés are called rosados, in Italy rosatos, in South Africa blanc de noir, and in California, more often than not, they are called blush wines (a name actually trademarked by Sonoma's Mill Creek Vineyards for its pale pink "white cabernet"), including the once-faddish white zinfandel.
In the past I would not have had too many recommendations for American rosés, but now there are some stellar examples from western vineyards that put out of mind all those Kool-Aid-flavored white zinfandels of the past.
One of the paler examples is a Robert Sinskey Vineyards Vin Gris of Pinot Noir from California's Napa Valley, which, despite a lack of much color, has a nice acidic bite on the palate and a hint of sweet fruit beneath, finishing well if not brilliantly.
And despite its French name, Copain Tous Ensemble Rosé is thoroughly American, from Mendocino County. It has a light-salmon hue, plenty of fruit, and is perfectly refreshing when sipped on a hot summer porch.
Simi of Sonoma Valley has always made a commendable rosé of cabernet grapes that has more body than most and just enough sweetness to be charming as an aperitif.
Napa Valley's Chandon Rosé sparkling wine is an enchantment, with a touch of pinot noir that provides the color and the body; at about $20, it's a fine bubbly for any occasion.
Beckman Vineyards of Santa Ynez Valley is known for its big, dark-red syrahs, but its grenache-based rosé is a winner and a good template for wines made from that varietal, like the similarly splendid rosé made by Laetitia Vineyard & Winery outside San Luis Obispo.
And if you are a fan of Kendall-Jackson wines, I think you'll find their rosé is every bit as well made as their more famous chardonnays and cabs. Made from malbec — which gives it wonderful body — this rosé is an ideal pairing with spicy dishes containing chile pepper and garlic, or even with sweet-and-tangy barbecue chicken. So fire up the grill and pour yourself a glass of the quality pink stuff. Homegrown rosés have never tasted so sweet.
Issue: July 2009
