Kudos to Lacy Garrison and Rosé - Day 4

Last night when I arrived home from work (or this morning rather) I found a book with a note on it from my neighbor.  The note said "Autumn, I found this book on the take shelf today.  Maybe it will be useful for your blog.  Lacy."  The book is Oldman's Brave New World of Wine by Mark Oldman.  Thank you so much Lacy!  That was so thoughtful.

For today's blog I decided to pick a topic from my new book.  Rosé.  Enough said.  Most of you Americans reading this are already laughing but I am about to let you in on a little secret that the Europeans already know.  It's not that bad.  In fact it is quite chic.

According to Oldman's Brave New World of Wine the bouquet (or to us common folk, the scent) is much like its color.  Rosé smells like "juicy red fruits like raspberries, cranberries, or watermelon, joined sometimes by floral essences, citrus fruits, or perhaps a whiff of minerals."  This dry wine tastes crisp like white wine but has the fuller body of a light red wine.  Mark Oldman also claims that the color comes in handy when pairing the wine with food.  "... serve it with anything pink - lobster, shrimp, ham, pork..."

Rosé comes from red wine grapes.  Oldman says that a method called "soignée" is used to make the wine which in French means "to bleed," "whereby the juice of red-wine grapes is bled off before the skins can make it fully red."  However, sometimes Rosé is actually made by blending red and white wines together.  If you want to test out your own taste buds on this wine and help put its bad reputation to rest, here's my advice to you... try a good bottle and don't purchase this luscious juice in a box.  If you try it the right way you may actually enjoy it!  Juice boxes are for kiddie lunches, oh and, stay away from Beringer's White Zinfandel.  What?

February 2011 Food & Wine Magazine recommends trying "2000 R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva" when you purchase your next bottle of Rosé.  In fact, it is one of their "Staff Favorite" picks.  Check it out, it may change your life forever.  Or maybe not.

I feel like tomorrow's blog should be about my most favorite wine, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Tomorrow shall bring research on Cabs and Cab blends.  If you have a grape or wine related topic that you want to learn more about but you don't have the time to look it up yourself, just leave me a comment with your request and I'll research if for you and post it here on my blog.

Goodnight.