February 9th, 2006 Winter Rose' Where do you find these wines in GA?

Pink wine? You're doing PINK WINE? IN WINTER!!!???

Yes, to all of the above. If this seems strange, consider that first of all, blush wines and good Roses are two different, albeit related, animals.

Blush wines typically have little acidity and complexity, they are strictly the sweet iced tea of wine. As one young devotee of them noted to me once: "I like them before dinner. But I can't stand them with food, which I enjoy with sweet iced tea." Does this make sense? Sure it does. She wants that tannic acid in tea to go with her food.
Good roses, whether completely dry or possessed of some residual sugar, are among the most food-flexible wines you'll encounter anywhere. So why limit them to summertime consumption? Until recently, American wineries made Roses just for the staff, because they were a tough sell. Staffers who knew the secret hoped like crazy the wine-consuming public would continue its snobbish attitude toward the genre, and not discover the delights of Rose.

Well, that's gone now. Rose is on a major comeback trail. And I, for one, couldn't be happier.

And about that myth about Rose that one should only savor it in the heat of summer. Do you forgo white wines in winter? (I sure hope not.)

The notion of "it must be 95 degrees + to enjoy a Rose" is all nonsense. If I'm savoring fajitas, and there's a blizzard going on out there, why should I change my wine? England has totally tossed over the bogus seasonality of Rose, and so should we.

"But," you may respond, "Rose should be consumed in the year it's bottled, as it doesn't hold up well." That may be a good general rule of thumb, but there are numerous exceptions. As a category, for instance, good brut Rose Champagne can endure, particularly from the top producers. In the mid 1990s, I tasted a 1985 Dom Perignon Brut Rose, and it was smashing. Not only that, I'd bet it would still taste good. But the last I checked the price--over $400 a bottle for that vintage--I'm not likely to savor the experience any time soon.

Here's the other thing: The Southern hemisphere produces excellent Rose, although New Zealand still is somewhat behind in this category. Not so South Africa, Chile, Argentina, or Australia, all producing excellent Roses that hit our market just as supplies from Europe are beginning to dwindle. This is a handy state of affairs for us Rose enthusiasts.

In 2004, I attended Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles, slated this year for May 11-13. That year, the theme was pink wine, and for lunch every participating winery was required to bring pink. What a rainbow there was on the tables! Every possible shade, tone and color value of the term "pink" created a tabletop panoply I'll not soon forget.
Neither will I forget how beautifully the wines went with the food. Bistro Laurent did the catering, providing a pissaladiere topped with caramelized onions, black olives and anchovies. Talk about a tough bunch of flavors to pair with wines! But the winner was the Jaffurs Matilija Rose. Jaffurs, a Santa Barbara (in fact it's the only winery within Santa Barbara's city limits) Rhone specialist, will make it again for the 2005. But it's a small production, sold only in the tasting room. Anybody going that way is hereby authorized to pick me up a couple of bottles.

America in the past produced only a couple of really good Roses, notably one from Firestone and another from Simi, both made from Cabernet Sauvignon. Simi no longer produces one. But now, winemakers seek to take advantage of their increasing popularity and affinity for the kinds of foods we enjoy today, especially Asian-affected and spicy fare. I've relished the very fine Miner Rose (Prestige Wine Wholesale) from California with crawfish etouffe; the amazing Catawba-based Rose from Huber's Orchard and Winery (not in Georgia) in southeast Indiana; the Linden Rose from Virginia (not made every year); and Georgia's own Sunset Rose ($15) from Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery (Empire Distributing) in Dahlonega.

Rose is so important for one set of winemakers, Jeff Morgan and Daniel Moore, that they joined forces to produce just one wine: a Rose of Sangiovese and Merlot called SoloRosa. The name.SoloRosa references the fact that it's all they make as a team (Morgan also makes some very high-end Kosher wines.) Morgan is so devoted to the genre that he's done a book on the subject with recipes, Rose: A Guide to the World's Most Versatile Wine (Chronicle Books: 2005, $19.95).

If winemakers respect Rose, why shouldn't the consumer? Tony Soter, whose Rose of Pinot Noir is reviewed below, puts it this way: "Roses are some of the most immediate and elemental celebrations of the new harvest." That's pretty philosophical prose, but it makes it clear how much he respects the genre.

How is Rose made? There are several methods. First, a winemaker may blend back into a base white wine some appropriate red wine, as is the case with most (but not all) brut Rose Champagne and sparkling wine. Or a winemaker may "bleed off" some of the juice from the red wine grapes. This method, usually known as "saignee" from a French word meaning "bled," typically produces deeply colored, intense light red wines. Doing a saignee allows the winemaker to intensify the red wine left behind, as now there is a greater liquid-to-skin ratio in the juice left behind that's being macerated for red wine.

But some winemakers consider wines made "saignee" somehow a lesser product. One winemaker even called them "trash" wines. Rose-specialist winemakers who revere the genre often prefer to make rose as is done in Provence, by letting red wine grapes grown specifically for the purpose macerate overnight, thus Rose d'Une Nuit (see below). Other winemakers also fond of Rose have issues with this method.

Each procedure has its fans, its advantages and its drawbacks. Ah taste! It's a grand thing.

So while winemakers may argue about how to make a good Rose, there's no arguing that Rose''s versatility is what makes the wine a favorite among winemakers and some restaurateurs. Until it burned in San Francisco, Rumpus Room had some 30 different Roses by the glass on its wine list.

I encourage you to toss aside any limitations you may have imposed upon yourself regarding Rose and savor it forthwith, despite the outside temperatures. You'll find it most rewarding.

Serve these moderately chilled, not too frosty, as their delicate flavors would be dimmed if too chilled. I find the Riedel Zinfandel glass, or similar tulip shape, the best glass choice for these red grape-based still wines. Use a tall fluted glass for sparkling brut rose, chilled to about 50 degrees.


Jane Garvey

Food Pairings: Amazing with soy-based sauces for grilled foods, such as grilled salmon or pork tenderloin with soy-sesame dipping sauce; Whole Foods' ginger braised lamb; dishes with sun-dried tomatoes, such as grilled chicken breast with a sun-dried tomato/caper relish; pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes and capers; Chinese-style barbecued ribs, roast duck and Cornish hen with Asian five spice seasoning; chicken sausages with red pepper. Skip overtly hot foods, such as anything blackened. There were lots more, but I'm outta room.

Price: $15
Wholesaler: Wine Maverick

Where to Get: Hometown Spirits (Flowery Branch); Colors of Wine (Vinings); Windward Package (Alpharetta); Sigman Bottle Shop (Conyers); Athens: Shiraz (Shiraz has 10 real roses on its shelves!)

Food Pairings: A beautiful food wine: Cumin-scented dishes; ratatouille; eggplant/tomato dishes; pasta with sun-dried tomatoes; smoked salmon mousse; Chinese fare, such as orange beef or chicken; calamari with marinara sauce or with Asian-influenced sauces; fried chicken; chicken sausage with red peppers; turkey picadillo; Cuban fare, such as traditional sandwiches, black beans and rice, roast pork; vegetable pot pie; root vegetable stew with country ham; beet and carrot salad--one hardly knows where to stop!

Price: $11
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Food Pairings: Tapas, including ham or chicken croquetas, Serrano ham, chorizo, garlic shrimp or mushrooms; just for starters. Plus mildly spicy salami, grilled sausages; Mexican casserole dishes, such as enchiladas, frijoles refritos, tortas (Mexican sandwiches). Cuban cuisine: Cuban sandwiches, black beans and rice, boliche. From Whole Foods: barbecued turkey meatloaf; King Ranch Casserole (or anything accented with cumin), braised lamb with ginger and red peppers. Italian fare: pizza; salsa puttanesca on pasta.

Price: $10
Wholesaler: Grape Expectations

Food Pairings: Layered casserole dishes, such as moussaka or pastitsio, with tomato and Bйchamel sauce; Whole Foods' King Ranch casserole (or other dishes flavored with cumin); probably also babootie (a layered South African meat casserole), grilled chicken, roast turkey; herb-marinated grilled lamb or pork tenderloin; Southern barbecue (ribs)

Price: $10
Wholesaler: Big Boat Wine Co.
(new wholesaler: 678-427-6152)

Price: $24
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Food Pairings: Mildly spicy Cajun crawfish tail salad (Harry's)--flat awesome; grilled bacon-wrapped scallops or prawns with mustard-mayonnaise dipping sauce; sushi, especially California rolls with soy, wasabi and pickled ginger (go easy on the wasabi, as you should anyway), steamed Asian dumplings with dipping sauce; sesame oil-dressed crisp greens, all manner of dim sum; smoked salmon mousse, cocktail salmon cakes with tartar sauce.

Price: $40
Wholesaler: Grapefields