SPIT: Rosé
“A Rosé by Any Other Name Is Not a Rosé,” runs the headline on this AP story. True dat. According to an EU proposal floated last week, the lower-cost method of blending red and white wines to make rosé may soon be allowed alongside the traditional method of “bleeding” rosé off of red grapes. Furor ensues and the method of making the rosé will appear on the label if approved in a May vote.

SIPPED: sanity in restaurant wine prices
A “hot, newish” restaurant in San Francisco may soon roll out wine at retail prices. That’s a fantastic idea and one that would likely fill up many a seat in the restaurant. Key question: do they allow doggy boxes? [Spume]

SIPPED: economic indicators
Forbes, known for their lists of billionaires, ran features on 10 wines under $10 AND box wines last week. What has the world of bling come to?

SIPPED: China
Domaines Barons de Rothschild, maker of the Bordeaux first growth Lafite, has announced they will be developing a 60 acre vineyard in China, specifically the peninsula of Penglai, Shandong province.

SIPPED: yet another celebrity wine
Antonio Banderas buys a stake in a winery in Spain’s Ribera del Duero. It will be renamed “Puss in Boots” after his role in Shrek. Oh no, scratch that–it will be called Anta Banderas.

What are you most worried about this fall?

Well, a few things. The high-end market has been very weak. So I’m worried about our Burgundy promotion. The 06s are really delicious wines but of course more expensive than the 05s and there is a good amount of 05 in the market.

Another thing I’d be worried about is price deflation. We importers have been taking it in the neck with the weak dollar, obviously, and I wonder if the market is going to be asking for big discounts because they see the uplift in the exchange rate. The market is going to yell when the prices go up but ya know, they’re not really happy about it. You’re never really increasing your prices enough to cover, really. But see prices going down—my guess is that’s going to happen in January. If the exchange rates hold, you’re going to start to see discounts. You have prices going down, you have a weak economy, what’s the result of that going to be? And of course being in New York where Wall Street is a big part of the overall business, I think that reverts back to my original point about the high end, which has been weak all year.

What are you most excited about this year?
The stronger dollar! I would be very excited by a stronger dollar.

Are you locking it in?
To a certain degree, yes, such as my allocation of Cotes du Rhone or Chateauneuf du Pape, such as Paul Autard. We’re looking to set prices early in the year, lock it in, and make up a few dollars that we lost. So that’s important. I think we’re going to see these exchange rates through the end of the year because there’s talk about interest rates going up. I’m very excited by us, as a company, getting much stronger in Greek wines where we’re doing importation directly. We’ve added a new winery, which had been in the market already but is new to our portfolio, Kir-Yianni, one of the top top top players in Greek wine. So that I am very excited about.

And I’m just excited to have some wine in stock! This summer across the board has been the summer from hell for shipping. I don’t know if you’ve heard much about this but there were strikes in Argentina, Italy, and France. It’s gotten very little play in the news—I do not know why. These ports were shut down. Normally we ship wine out of Le Havre in France but we had to have it trans-shipped out of Antwerp, Belgium at great expense. We had a container that left Greece and then went by way of Romania, you know, up in the Black Sea! Crazy stuff! People had no rosé this summer! Crazy stuff! So I’m just happy to have wine in the warehouse. That’s a good thing. It’s been really rough this summer.

And Greek wine—tell me why you’re excited about wines from Greece?
For many reasons. As an area, I’m always excited by places that have autochthonous—there’s a word for you!—varieties, something distinctive. Some people bring up South African wines, but there’s nothing to get excited about from there. Ooh another Chardonnay! When you go to a place that has distinct varieties, that has distinct terroirs, what’s not to be excited by. That’s what got me excited about Hungary and Argentina. For me personally, as an importer and distributor, that got me excited.

And then there’s what’s going on with Greek wine making. It’s very exciting. They’re not making the oxidized wines any more. They’re really spending money on technology—technology can be a good thing, properly, it’s not all new oak chips. It’s temperature controls! It’s non-oxidized wine. But the number one reason I’m excited about them is because they fit the flavor profile of what we want today. Wines with not a lot of oak, good acidity, flavorful—that’s why we love sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. To me those are the futrues of wine profiles—not that they are going to taste like sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, but these wines have the profile of the wines—the attack, the finish, the acidity, the oak regimen. Good fruit, clean bright flavors, lively, food friendly, they fit our market perfectly. They have a great story to tell.

Rosé—summer wine or all year wine?
We have been selling rosé all year round. I’m happy that the rosé revolution happened on the other hand, I’m less happy since I’ve been a touter of rose since day one, we can sell rose every year, and now everyone’s got rose! There are so many roses in the market now. We have certain roses, one from Argentina and a cabernet franc from Chinon in the Loire—those are perfectly geared for year-round selling—and we sell them year round! Obviously it is a big push until the summer, but we sell them year round. It’s really happening.

As an importer and a distributor I try to strategize: this is a rose that will be selling in summer; this is one that will sell in winter. which kind will sell when. [A winter rose] is a Malbec, cabernet franc, they have more mouthfeel, a little more richness; they’re almost like red wine….Any time there’s a boom, whether it’s from Argentina or it’s rose, there’s a lot of crap. I find that there are a lot of roses that don’t understand roses! Someone heard roses are happening! So we need one! But they’re gloppy and they’re sweet. To me the bar is set in Provence. Like it or not–it’s kind of like French cooking. You don’t have to cook like a Frenchman, but that’s where it starts! At least for Western cuisine. It’s the benchmark and you take it from there. It’s like that for rose. Beautiful fruit, delicious acidity, goes well with so many foods—rose is definitely becoming all year round. And it’s a great trend! At the beginning I had two roses, then we added another one—now we have 21 roses!

After the event was over, Mrs. Vino and I stayed to have dinner at the bar. Our dishes (plates?) were great, prepared by chef Matthew Karp who, along with the amiable Wendy Weinstein Karp, owns and runs the restaurant.

I was amused to open the wine list to find page one declaring “It’s National Rosé Month!” Since I had apparently missed that memo, I asked Craig Muraszewski, the wine director, about it. He said that he had personally declared it national rosé month, “within these four walls.” Funny stuff. Oh, and he said the National Rosé Month runs from June til Labor Day…

I tried to snap a pic with my cameraphone of Craig’s “top ten reasons to drink rosé,” as listed on page one of the wine list, but it was too low-lit so I’ll re-type them after the jump. I particularly liked #9 for all its randomness…

10. It’s a refreshing summertime favorite
9. The anti-Bush wine
8. Be romantic and drink the wine of love
7. It’s the wine with the most elegant bouquet
6. It’s the wine that will make you “blush”
5. Not sure you want red or white? Compromise…pick rose
4. It’s almost as good as giving flowers…maybe better…
3. Men look great in pink
2. The Grateful Dead used to pound a bottle before each concert
1. Because all the cool people are doing it…and so should you

I actually poured one rosé at the tasting — the strawberry-dominant, Shinn Estate 2006 (find this wine) from Long Island. Thanks to Lenn for the local tip!

Of note: Wednesday is BYOB night at Plates!

Related: “Fighting back the rosé backlash! In defense of the pink drink“

Just as America is warming up to dry pink wine, Papa Bear Eric Asimov tells us it’s jumped the shark. It’s over. Before it even began! Rosé, we hardly knew ye! EA cries out for rosé therapy on his blog:

But doc, why am I so unhappy about rosés? I don’t want to buy them. I don’t want to drink them. I don’t hate them. I’m just not interested. But I know I’m supposed to care. That is, I’m supposed to be carefree, which is the proper attitude for rosés. You know, lunches in Provence, tapas in Spain, let the rosé flow. But I’m not carefree about rosé. I’m grumpy. What’s wrong with me?…I hate to be a killjoy, doc. Isn’t there anything you can do for me?

Don’t be grumpy, Eric! Just get into the vibe! Although I’m not the kind of doctor you’re looking for, here are some tips for starting to think pink:

1. Context matters: rosé could be the ultimate wine where context matters. When it’s hot, chill it and have it on the deck, at a sidewalk cafe, under a tree, in a hammock–wherever there’s no air conditioning! The hotter you are, the better it will taste.

2. A halfway house for whites and reds: dyed in the wool partisans of whites and reds may not often overlap but rosé may just prove that common ground.

3. Tired of serious wine? It’s a quaffer, easily downed. Refreshment is key. Rosé is almost a state of mind more than it is a wine. (Is this sounding New Age-y yet?)

4. Food friendly: high-acidity dry rosé pairs with a lot of foods, including some hard ones like salads and gazpacho and, of course, anything meaty.

5. Wallet friendly: I’d be grumpy too if I paid a lot for rosé–$15 is my max. This is the first press of some wine or from red vines that aren’t mature enough to do anything interesting so there’s an economic argument for it’s being cheap too. Last summer when we were in the south of France we got a 5L box of the hearty Bergerac rosé for 12 euros, which brought down our per glass costs to practically nothing. It makes you extremely generous when the wine is always cold and your per glass cost is less than a postage stamp–and wine is for sharing!

Some of my favorite dry rosés from this summer:
* Chateau Peyrassol. At $17 it is in my grump-zone, but still very nice light Provencal style. (search)
* Commanderie de Bargemone: Yummy, fresh strawberry notes, good acidity and $12 (search).
* Domaine Houchart (St. Victoire): This wine just makes me think about lunch, outside under an umbrella. $15 (search)
* Domaine Sorin, Terra Amata (Cotes de Provence): Sustainably grown; wonderful with fried calamari (search)
* Chateau d’Aqueria (Tavel): Darker in color and bolder in taste, this is a good one for enticing people from the red side as I did last weekend with a guy who “only drinks red.” Though at $17, it’s into my grumpy price range (search)
* Bodegas Muga (Rioja): easy to find, this one is an even better value at $10 (search)
* Bernard Baudry (Chinon): pleasant, but a tad too serious for mindless summer fun with it’s dollop of minerality (search)

Preppy is back. Drink pink.

Whatever you might do with bargain bubbly, they have their time and place. I’ve gotten several reader mails recently from people getting married looking for advice on wines for their wedding, particularly when they have the option to source the wines themselves.

The real budget killer can be the Champagne toast. Every guest feels obliged to take a glass, whether they are going to drink it or not. Some just take a sip. Either way, there’s generally a lot bubbly left in the flutes on the tables.

So here’s a short list of bubbly that doesn’t break the bank. Perceptive readers will notice that none of these hail from the region of Champagne. That’s because entry-level Champers starts at $30 these days. I set a maximum of $15 so that we didn’t send the newlyweds (or the parents of the bride) into penury–we’ll let the florist do that.

Bargain bubbly can be a mixed bag with too much residual sugar and too little depth of flavor. If you end up being able to source your own bubbly for the wedding, be sure to taste a bottle before buying in bulk to ensure it is your style. The bubblies here are in my order of preference:

Bisol, “Crede” prosecco (Italy) $14 (find this wine)
My buddy Mark Oldman is a huge fan of prosecco. He shows a flagrant disregard for international law and calls it “Italian champagne” at his parties. Why is it a good party wine? Because it is easy on the wallet and on the palate. Sometimes I find prosecco too sweet but this Bisol is crisp and dry. More importantly, it as a good bead–the wine geek term for them there bubbles that make it so festive. Heck, I wouldn’t just save this one for mass toasts–I’d drink it with plenty of food too ranging from hard cheese to an Asian noodle soup. (Importer: Vias)

Juve y Camps rose cava $14 (find this wine)
I’d be willing to bet that if my innkeeper got poured this cava blind, he do something other than wash the dog with it — he’d no doubt drink it with great enthusiasm. Made from 100 percent pinot noir, this dry pink bubbly has nice red berry notes surprisingly pleasant acidity. Drink pink.

Chandon California brut. $11 (find this wine)
My expectations were low for this one with a generic “California” designation. But in the glass, the wine surprised me pleasant fruit, a good bead, and enough sugar to make it rich but not cloying. I poured it at a tasting event recently and it was well-received. Don’t be surprised if you see Aunt Marnie going around and taking sips out of the half-empty glasses if you pour this one at the wedding.

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Great question! And thoughtful gesture! Some retailers put together pre-fab cases but I have generally approached them with skepticism. Why? I probably don’t want one or two or three of the wines in the set case. And I suspect there’s something in there that the store might be trying to move for reasons other than necessarily serving the consumer.

But I put my skepticism aside and decided to put my money where my mouth is. I recommended Jeff check out Chambers Street Wines, which has a selection of pre-fab cases at $100 and $200 both red and mixed. I also recommended the mixed “Memorial Day” case at Le Du’s Wines in the West Village. Maybe it was the thought of grilling this weekend but for some reason I found myself clicking “buy now.”

Tuesday I clicked and Wednesday my doorbell rang. I have to confess a certain amount of excitement pulling out bottles I’ve never tried before. Even if I don’t know the producers’ names, the back labels sport the names of some very solid importers–Neal Rosenthal, Jon David Headrick, Classical Wines among others. And they were selected by the knowledgeable staff, headed by Jean-Luc Le Du, formerly the sommelier at the restaurant Daniel.

But the best part? $145.99! Free delivery in New York State. I’ll keep you posted on how the one-click convenience works out in the glass. The list follows below for your perusal. But if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go put a bottle in the fridge since it is heading to 84 degrees today…

Sparkler
Giovinale Moscato d’Asti 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Moscato – Piedmont, Italy

Rosés
Docetanidos Rosado 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Tempranillo/Albillo/Sauvignon Blanc – Cigales, Spain

Commanderie de Peyrassol 2006 (find this wine at retail)
Cinsault/Mourvedre/Grenache/Syrah – Provence, France

Whites
Ermita Veracruz 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Verdejo – Rueda, Spain

Domaine Ogereau 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Chenin Blanc – Anjou, France

Desierto 2006 (find this wine at retail)
Sauvignon Blanc – Argentina

Chateau Virgile 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Marsanne/Rousanne – Costières de Nimes, France

Reds
San Romano 2004 (find this wine at retail)
Dolcetto – Piedmont, Italy

Burch Hall Winery 2003 (find this wine at retail)
Cabernet Sauvignon – Lodi, California

Camp Galhan “Les Perassières” 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Syrah/Grenache – Languedoc, France

Fonseca Periquita 2004 (find this wine at retail)
Castelhão Frances – Terras do Sado, Portugal

Vina Gormaz 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Tempranillo – Ribera del Duero, Spain

Send in your wine photos that that need our captioning!

Boniface, Apremont, vin de savoie 2004, $13 find this wine
From the Alpine region of Savoie comes this refreshing dry white for summer. Impress your friends with not only with a wine from a distant corner of France but also made from the obscure jacquere grape. Try it on the deck one evening with a salad while contemplating if the Alps would make a good place for your summer house given the ‘inconvenient truth’ of Al Gore’s movie.

Naia, verdejo, Rueda, 2005 $9 find this wine
There was a day that a white wine from Spain meant simply pain; but no longer. Zip right up to this crisp white that would be great for those who are looking for something a little more exotic than kiwi sauvignon blanc.

Don David, torrontes, Cafayate, 2005. $12 find this wine
The torrontes grape from Argentina is relatively unknown but you should rush to greet it to your local wine shop. This Don David captivated a group that I poured it for this spring with its unusual aromas of honeysuckle blossoms—yet it is completely dry.

La Ferme Martin, Wolffer, chardonnay, Long Island, 2004 $10 find this wine
Ah, bitter irony. As the French get maligned for not having enough English on their labels, this American producer uses French as a selling point! However, this is no California chardonnay since it is crisp and clean.

Pepiere, Muscadet, 2004 $8 find this wine
A great summer white that goes down easy—thanks not only to the aging on the lees, which gives it more heft than your typical Muscadet, but also to the gulpable price.

Domaine Sorin, Coteaux de Provence, 2005. $12 find this wine
Coteaux de Provence produces some excellent dry roses ; in fact it might be the benchmark for quality in roses. This one, light in color but with excellent notes of strawberry rose petals, has the added benefit of being organic. I found this one in a 5 liter bag-in-a-box in France—too bad we have to stick to the regular bottle size since they don’t seem to export the big format to the US.

Jean-Luc Colombo, Pioche et Cabanon Rose, Cote bleue, Coteaux d’aix en provence controlle, 2005. €7.25 at Casino hypermarche find this wine
Light in color, this is a classic rose—summer in a glass. Try this with a salade nicoise, close your eyes, and you will be transported to the Riveria. OK, if only it were that easy. Try this combo at home and it will be like being there without the jet lag. (Palm Bay Imports)

Vall dell’Acate, Il Frappato, Sicily, 2004. $14 find this wine
From the traditional blending grape, frappato, comes Sicily’s answer to Beaujolais—chill this light red and serve it on a hot summer evening.

French Rabbit, pinot noir, Languedoc, 2004 1L $10 find this wine
The box format makes this light red a great picnic wine. No corkscrew needed!

Clos de los Siete, 2004. $15 find this wine
This is a big red and so it may seem out of place on this list. But hey, sometimes it is possible to find air conditioning or you need something to stand up to the finger lickin BBQ sauce. This will do the job with its big extracted flavors—though the 15% alcohol may make you want to drink it under a deck umbrella.

Most overrated rosé: Domaine Ott, 2004. $30. find this wine Expectations were sky high along with the price tag—but the weakness of multiple bottles of this wine made me wonder if $12 is my limit for rosé.

tags: wine | wine reviews | wine tasting notes | global warming

Congratulations to Jack of Fork & Bottle who correctly guessed the price I paid for the 5L box of rosé! Five liters, 12 euros, now that’s a price per ounce that I can drink to! At about $15 a box, that works out to the equivalent of about $2.25 a regular bottle.

The dry rosé was an appellation Bergerac wine from Chateau Tiregand ( find this wine). They actually sell a similar rosé in a bottle for 4.50 euros but why pay that when you can have a bag-in-a-box for your summer time refreshment? Kept on the fridge shelf, the rosé flows fresh for several weeks. Whenever a friend or neighbor drops by–bang!–a cool glass can great them upon arrival. I wish more restaurants would offer wine-by-the-glass from a bag-in-the-box–providing that it is worthwhile wine to start–since it solves the freshness problem that plagues many restaurants.

The rose is very dark in color in part since it is from malbec and cabernet franc grapes. If rosé is a wine that straddles red and white, this one leans much more toward red. It’s got heft–maybe even a little more than needed in the middle of summer (I was caught adding an ice cube to mine for chilling and diluting purposes–but hey at least it was an Evian ice cube!).

tags: wine | packaging | rose

The other day I had a rosé and it was no fun. Rosé is supposed to be fun. Besides the truncated flavor range, the price made it a further downer: $30. Yikes—talk about a buzzkill! So I was thrilled when, a few days later, I had this Peyrassol. Made by a mother-son duo in the hills of Provence, this wine from syrah, grenache and cinsault offers pale colors but an alluring blend of rose petals and strawberry aromas give way to refreshing crisp acidity. Just what you need on the deck in Provence—-in fact, a deck anywhere. Try this very food friendly with a range or foods from fish to spicy dishes. Shop around so that you don’t over-peyrassol. Importer: Neal Rosenthal.

tags: wine | tasting notes | wine reviews