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- ROSÉ WINES
We are mildly amused by the reaction of most people to the
thought of drinking a rosé or pink wine. "Oh, no! We don't want anything
sweet!"
Or: "We want real wine."
Years ago, in the late-1960s and early 1970s, the fashionable wines were Blue Nun
Liebfraumilch, Mouton-Cadet from Bordeaux, a straw-covered bulb-shaped bottle from Tuscany
and a pair of Portuguese pink wines. Mateus came in a flagon, while Lancer's was put
into a "crock" bottle. From France came "Nectar-Rose," a
Cabernet rosé from the Loire Valley. Almaden, then a large winery in San Jose and
Hollister, used to make a delightful Grenache Rosé. Paul Masson made a fizzy
rosé called "Crackling Rosé." Naturally, these wines were sweet, relying on
sugar for their character.
In Mediterranean regions where people have been drinking wines for more than a few
years, rosé wines are not uncommon. In fact, they're embraced with tremendous
enthusiasm!
In Spain, for example, we found many restaurants with a dozen or two rosé
wines, but
a couple of whites and then the obligatory 30-50 red wines. And the wines there are
not sugary, sweet insipid excuses for wine. They can be flavorful and stone, bone
dry.
 France produces many wonderful
rosé wines.
The Rhone Valley's
"Tavel" is famous and usually expensive. The Tavel
appellation is seen only on the pink wine; you won't find a white or red
version of Tavel. Grenache is "the" grape of this famed rosé.
Provence also produces a wide array of
pink wines, especially famous being those from Bandol. In
Provence, by the way, the wines with a more light orange/onion skin/pale
salmon color are highly prized. They don't care much for deep cherry
red colored pink wines.
Bordeaux even offers
rosé,
yet where are you likely to find that? These wines, you
see, never attain high numerical scores in the various journals because these are simply
not fancy enough for wine geeks.
California has been producing rosé wines for decades. They were typically made
when red grapes didn't achieve a sufficient degree of ripeness to make a big red wine.
Then, when growers planted tons of red grapes in the early 1970s, the market wanted
fruity wines and wineries obliged making "white wines" (well, they were not
red...some were pink or had the color of onion skins) from red grapes. Some were not
saleable as "rosé," but sold as Blanc de Noir, snobby wine drinkers
would buy.
 In the early 1970s, almost every winery seemed to have a rosé! Caymus called
its rosé "Oeil de Perdrix" (Eye of the Partridge) and the wine was made of
Pinot Noir.
Robert Mondavi made a Gamay Rosé from Napa Valley fruit.
Mirassou
used to make a dynamite "Petite Sirah Rosé."
 Sebastiani had "Eye of
the Swan." -
 Mill Creek, in Sonoma's Healdsburg, made a Cabernet Sauvignon
Rosé,
as did Simi nearby. The Kreck family (as in Mill Kreck) copyrighted the term
"Blush" for its "Cabernet Blush." Other wineries, finding this
term to have marketing power, could call their pink wines "Blush" wines only if
they paid a royalty fee to the Krecks!
David Bruce was one of the first to make a "Blanc de Noirs," produced from
Zinfandel, if memory serves. This was a brownish, onion-skin-colored wine.
Bob
Magnani at Grand Cru Vineyards in the Sonoma Valley made a "Nouveau"-styled
wine, as well as a Blanc de Noirs. Sutter Home, at that time a producer of
"serious," big Zinfandels from Amador County fruit, made a "Blanc de
Noirs." This was a "White Zinfandel" and theirs was a bit sweet.
This turned into a massively popular wine and made the Trinchero family wealthy in
no time! They had struck gold!
 I was affiliated with a small winery in those ancient days. This place made
really good, bone dry rosé wines of Grignolino, Petite Sirah, Cabernet, etc. I took
these to a snobby, snooty San Francisco wine shop. The owner or manager laughed when
I presented these wines, not even wanting to taste them! I was disheartened,
but amused at the same time. For, you see, right next to the sales counter was a
stack of rosé wine! But it was sold as a Blanc de Noirs table (still) wine.
It was from
Domaine Chandon and called "Tâche Nature." So....a
rosé by any other
name..................
Today there is still a large sea of White Zinfandel. Most of this is made from
over-cropped vineyards in California's massive Central Valley. The grapes have very
little character, yet when made as a somewhat sweet wine, they manage to find a market for
this.
Making a flavorful, good quality pink wine, call it rosé, blush, vin gris or
anything else you like, is a tricky piece of work.
To achieve the right color, most winemakers macerate the grape skins, which offer
color, tannin, flavor and fragrance, for some modest amount of time. Too short a
period and the wine lacks color and flavor. Too long a maceration period and the
wine becomes too dark and perhaps even a bit astringent (from the tannin).
Large, behemoth factories would make rosé wine by merely "coloring" a tank
of white wine with some very dark red. If you add a few gallons of inky, dark
Alicante Bouschet to a tank of Colombard or Thompson Seedless white wine:
Voilà! Rosé (or the terrible term : "Blush Chablis").
Ferment the wine until it is bone dry. Then add grape concentrate or unfermented or
partially-fermented juice to achieve the exact amount of sweetness desired.
Today many California winemakers 'bleed' off liquid from their fermentation
tanks full of juice and grape skins. This allows them to have a
greater skin-to-juice ratio and make, perhaps, a bigger red wine. In
doing so, they end up making small amounts of pink wine.
Since these grapes cost a fortune, many vintners feel obliged to charge a
high price.
Keep in mind, though, producers whose first interest is "rosé"
wine are making theirs from fruit picked at a modest sugar level. This
is rather different from these California winemakers who are picking grapes
at a potential alcohol level of 15% or more. Rosé wines with elevated
alcohols simply miss the mark...
Okay. That's the scoop on rosé and pink wine.
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SOME ROSÉS WE LIKE:
DOMAINE AMIDO 2010 TAVEL ROSÉ $14.99
 With some
30 hectares spread out between Tavel and Lirac in the Southern Rhône
Valley, Christian Amido has been at the helm of this estate for nearly 25 years!
They built a new facility in 2001.
 "Grandpa"
Armand Maby was involved in the various family enterprises and he showed us
around the Tavel and Lirac appellations the first time we visited a few
years ago...sadly, he passed away, but the kids still run the place.
The recipe is a good one, the wine having a subtle spice note and a touch of
berry fruit without being a fruit bomb. Of course, it's dry. The
blend is 65% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 10% Syrah and 5% of a white grape,
Clairette. Amido leaves the skins in contact with the juice for a
day-and-a-half, enough to extract a bit of color, but not enough to pick up
astringency in the wine.
ABEL CLEMENT 2009 CÔTES du RHÔNE ROSÉ $8.99
 This comes from a modest-sized grower's
cooperative winery just a short distance north and east of Tavel. We're
usually happy with their little white Rhône and this vintage the rosé, too, is
really good. Even with the weak dollar, this dry, strawberryish pink wine
is just perfect for warm weather drinking. It comes in screw-capped
bottles, too.
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CUNE 2010 RIOJA
ROSADO $11.99
 CUNE is
the Compania Vinicola del Norte Espana.
It's an old firm and they make traditionally-styled wines for the most part.
And they make a thoroughly modern rendition of Rioja-area Rosado, producing
a wine that's made entirely of Tempranillo from the Rioja Alta region.
The juice spends 24 to 48 hours in contact with the skins until they find
the color to be just right...The juice is pressed away from the skins and
it's fermented in stainless steel tanks and bottled young and fresh.
The 2010 has just arrived...nice fresh aromas of red fruits...these same
notes comprise the flavors: raspberries, cherries and a touch of
strawberry. Dry, of course.
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- LE GALANTIN
 This
is a modest little family-operated winery and bed & breakfast estate
with most of their vineyards within the Bandol appellation.
They're facing the Gros Cerveau mountain within the town of Plan du
Castellet. The winery was founded in 1970 and today comprises
something close to 35 hectares.
We like their Rosé as it's a classic Provencal version of
"pink" wine...more the onion skin color...it's a blend of 55% Mourvèdre, 35% Cinsault and 10% Grenache. Dry, of course.
Perfect for salads, seafood, seafood salads, seafood pastas, a platter of
charcuterie, etc. -
- Currently in stock: 2009 LE GALANTIN Bandol Rosé Sold Out
DOMAINE De L'HORTUS 2010 (List $14) SALE
$12.99
 The
Orliac family owns this modest domaine, one of the quality leaders in the
Pic St. Loup appellation in the Languedoc.
The photo on the right
shows young François Orliac in their rocky vineyards.
This is the sixth or seventh vintage of their Rosé that we've had in the
shop.
It's 20% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre and 50% Grenache this vintage...it's
returned to a preponderance of Grenache this year... You'll find a lot of raspberryish notes in this wine and it's perfect for
taming spicy foods. It's a great picnic wine, too.
-
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LE ROC ROSÉ 2010 (FRONTON) $9.99
Château Le Roc is the leading estate in the Fronton region near
Toulouse.
The Ribes brothers make some terrific wines, using the Negrette grape (we
call it Pinot Saint George here in California). In addition to the
Negrette, there's 30% Syrah and 5% Cabernet
Their 2010 Rosé is berryish and dry with a touch of spice. Good
value, too.
Remarkably balanced, too...
JULIAN CHIVITE GRAN
FEUDO 2010 ROSADO $9.99
 Chivite
is an old time vintner and they've been making what many consider to be
the "benchmark" Spanish rosado.
The Chivite family still runs this bodega, tracing their roots back to the
1600s in Navarra. The company owns about 470 acres of vineyards and
has contracts on several other parcels, too.
We were first introduced to their wines several decades ago...and while
the Rosado has been consistently good over that time period, obtaining
their wines has not been easy.
We were in Europe at a wine fair some years ago, saw the Chivite stand,
tasted the wines and had a chat with a marketing person. "Oh,
we'd love to sell wines again in the U.S.," she told me. And we
suggested a national importer and two years later...the wines arrived with
this company.
But that lasted just a couple of years, as the accountants demanded more
sales than could be generated.
Lately, the wine has come through a small importer of Iberian wines who has a
nice portfolio, but an impressive mark-up.
They still are offering the 2009 vintage and those bottles sell, typically, for
$12-$15.
This week's new importer offers the wine for a more affordable price and the
wine is, as has been customary, outstanding. It's redolent of
raspberries, the hallmark of good Garnacha. Dry, of course!
CHÂTEAU LA CANORGUE 2008 ROSÉ
Sold Out Presently...
If you happened to see the Russell Crowe film from 2006, "A Good
Year," it was filmed at Margan's gorgeous estate in the Côtes du Luberon.
Over the years the wine has evolved, as Margan can make a deeper-colored
wine or a more salmon/onion skin hued rosé. These lighter-colored
offerings are more popular along the French Riviera and so I think that's
the style he's been producing the past few vintages.
FLORESTA 2009 ROSADO $9.99
 From
Spain's Costa Brava we have a delicious, dark, deeply berryish pink wine.
It's made by the Pere Guardiola winery and the blend is 50% Garnacha, 42% Merlot
and 8% Tempranillo.
DOMAINE TEMPIER 2008 BANDOL ROSÉ Sold Out
 The
estate of Domaine Tempier is especially famous here in the Bay Area thanks to
Berkeley-based importer Kermit Lynch. He's beaten his well-worn drum in touting the
Mourvèdre-based
wines of his beloved Tempier.
It's predominantly Mourvèdre, with Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan, and maybe a
drop of Syrah for those
keeping score at home.
The wine is, were pleased to report, delicious. It's dry and fresh,
showing nice berry fruit on the nose and palate.
One of the best
we've tasted from the 2008 vintage. Too bad it's so costly, but it is
good...
The 2009, we're told, is unavailable and the sales rep for the local importer
has quit working for the company as a result. Curious.
The
estate of Domaine Tempier is especially famous here in the Bay Area thanks to
Berkeley-based importer Kermit Lynch. He's beaten his well-worn drum in touting the
Mourvèdre-based
wines of his beloved Tempier.
It's predominantly Mourvèdre, with Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan, and maybe a
drop of Syrah for those
keeping score at home.
The wine is, were pleased to report, delicious. It's dry and fresh,
showing nice berry fruit on the nose and palate.
One of the best
we've tasted from the 2008 vintage. Too bad it's so costly, but it is
good...
The 2009, we're told, is unavailable and the sales rep for the local importer
has quit working for the company as a result. Curious.
-
HEITZ 2009 Napa Valley GRIGNOLINO ROSÉ $17.99
 A
sure sign of Summer is the arrival of Heitz old-fashioned, dry, Napa Valley rosé
made of the Italian Grignolino variety.
This is light and dry and it offers a wonderfully floral
perfume.
There's nothing like it and most California vintners have no clue as to how to
produce a good pink wine.
Most are more skilled at affixing a high price tag to the bottle than they are
to vinifying the wine.
The Heitz family has been making this since the 1960s...
Domaines Ott Rosé "Coeur de Grain" 2010
(List $45!) SALE $37.99
  The
fancy bottle was designed in the 1930s and the Ott family makes one of France's most
esteemed rosé wines in Provence.
The family owns three estates:
Clos Mireille, producing Côtes de Provence white wine.
Château Romassan, a Bandol property where they make red, white and rosé.
Château de Selle, their original and oldest holding in the Côtes de Provence where they
make rosé, red and white.
We usually have the Château de Selle Rosé (as well as their Clos Mireille white), a pink
wine vinified from Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Cinsault. I think this wine is
best served with Provençal-styled cuisine. Bouillabaisse wouldn't be a bad idea.
Nor would something incorporating saffron.
CASAL GARCIA VINHO VERDE ROSE $6.99
 This
is a remarkably good, dry pink wine from Portugal...it's from a winery a few
miles outside of Oporto and they're famous for their Vinho Verde.
If you've been searching for a rose made from 30%
Vinhao, 35% Azal Tinto, and 35% Borracal, here's your wine.
It's fresh, strawberryish and close to dry, with a faint spritz to it.
This is a delightful wine, flavorful and low in alcohol.
PAUL MATHEW 2009 ROSE of PINOT NOIR $17.99
 This
comes from a tiny winery in Sonoma...Mat Gustafson produces some elegant Pinot
Noirs and his rose is berryish and dry...
This
comes from a tiny winery in Sonoma...Mat Gustafson produces some elegant Pinot
Noirs and his rose is berryish and dry...
CHATEAU TOUR DE MIRAMBEAU 2009 BORDEAUX ROSE
$11.99
 The
Despagne family produces wonderful Bordeaux wines...even a deliciously dry pink
wine made of Cabernet.
Lots of red fruits and a mildly herbal element...
The
Despagne family produces wonderful Bordeaux wines...even a deliciously dry pink
wine made of Cabernet.
Lots of red fruits and a mildly herbal element...
BIDALERE (Formerly Pellehaut) 2010 ROSÉ $9.99
The Beraut family now sends its Pellehaut wines to
us with an alternate label, Bidalere. They apparently had some importer in
another part of the country who's convinced them to give him exclusive rights to
the Pellehaut label.
So the local importer now has the same wines under the Bidalere label, a name
also associated with the Beraut's estate.
This is a deliciously fruity and dry Rosé. It's a blend of Tannat, Syrah
and Merlot.
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LOPEZ HEREDIA 2000 Vina Tondonia Rioja Rosado $29.99
 We
wonder what some people think when they see an eleven year old bottle (yes,
2000 vintage) of "pink" wine sitting on the rack...there are all the
2009s and 2010s and here's a bottle that's more than a decade old.
Why is it still languishing on the wine rack?
Why didn't they sell it in 2001, when it was young?
What's the matter with these stupid wine store people (if that isn't
redundant)?
Well, the Lopez Heredia winery does things differently. And, in fact,
this wine is more recently released here than some of our younger rose wines.
Lopez Heredia, you see, takes its time when making ALL its wines.
Patience is required.
Instant gratification is not part of their lexicon.
The 2000 vintage is 60% Garnacho (they call Grenache/Garnacha: "Garnacho"),
30% Tempranillo and 10% Viura. The wine spent about 4 years in wood and
they'd rack it a couple of times a year, fining it with egg whites (that means
you can't serve this to your vegan friends) and bottling it without
filtration.
How does it taste?
Well, it tastes like an older, somewhat mature wine. It lacks the
exuberant fruit of a young, fruity rose. The wine is dry and matches up
quite nicely with a range of foods...white fish filets cooked in brown
butter...smoked pork chops...chicken cooked in the fat rendered by bacon or
salt pork...
This seems to show best with some soulful foods, rather than simple picnic
fare.
But it's not for everyone--that's for sure!
LANCER'S
 We
get numerous requests for Lancer's Rosé and are happy to special order it for
our customers.
It currently goes for $6.99 before the 12 bottle case discount.
If you're interested in a case, please call us to place your order.
This is what it used to look like:
 This
is how it looks these days: 
MATEUS
This goes for $5.99 a bottle. I
bought one to taste it just to check it out.
It's pale pink, sort of onion skin color. Sweet...not much fruit on the
nose...
And it still comes in its flagon-shaped bottle. We actually have a few
bottles in stock...
BLUE NUN
 Back in
the early 1970s, Blue Nun was "the" German wine. It took the
mystery out of buying a bottle of Riesling...you did not have to know
hard-to-pronounce names such as "Weingut Reichsrat Von Buhl Forster
Kirchenstuck
Riesling Spätlese trocken Grosses Gewächs."
Blue Nun won't be winning any blind-tastings of German wine, but it is still
available for those customers who have a case of nostalgia and want a case of
Blue Nun.
MOUTON CADET
 This
wine is purportedly from Bordeaux.
It sort of tastes like a Bordeaux, but we wouldn't be surprised if other wines
were blended with Bordeaux to create Mouton Cadet.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, chic wine drinkers knew this brand as being a
symbol of good taste and sophistication. I think today the same people (or
their offspring) buy wines such as California's Far Niente or Cakebread to
demonstrate their status as bon vivants.
The white wine equivalent of Mouton Cadet came from the Burgundy firm of Louis
Jadot. (See below...)
LOUIS JADOT
 You
have to give the people credit who would come into a shop or restaurant and try
to pronounce the name of this wine.
"Do you have any Lou-ee Jar-dott Polly-Foos?"
"Where's the Louis Jadot Pussy Fussee?"
It was a sign of sophistication, to be sure, to be able to order a bottle of
this wine in a restaurant. Your guests knew you were a sharp, well-heeled
individual. The waiter knew and so did the bus boy.
I think yesterday's Pouilly-Fuissé drinker is today's buyer of Far Niente or
Cakebread Chardonnay.
If you want some bottles of Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé or their perfectly
ordinary Macon Villages, let me know and we'll special order these for
you.
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