Spring has sprung, and that can only mean one thing in wine country: it’s rosé season. This is the time of year when wineries release their new rosé, to be enjoyed now and all through the summer (and if you can hold onto a bottle all the way until Thanksgiving, it’s superb with the food).
This time of year, rosé is fresh off the bottling line. It can be light and zingy with a hint of color and fruit, or it can have more body and complexity with nice acidity to keep it fresh. Gone are the days of heavy, sweet rosés…most wineries today are making a Provence-style rosé: dry, fresh, a little (or a lot) fruity with tons of acidity to keep your mouth refreshed. Just what we need on warm Spring days and Summer evenings.
In Los Olivos, look for these 6 ravishing rosés:
- Liquid Farm makes Rosé of Mourvédre from Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA. Bottled on Feb 5, 2020, the new vintage does not disappoint!! Apricot, orange zest, and river rock aromas are followed with flavors of peach skin, nectarine, and salty sea air. Due to replanting, production is down and we cannot guarantee we will be able to make it last all year.
- Larner Vineyard & Winery makes Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre rosé this Easter weekend as well. This Rhone blend of grapes is really the classic choice for rosés from Provence.
- Kaena Wines makes a more complex rosé of Grenache, a pretty wine that can easily stand up to summer barbecues.
- Coquelicot has a Rosé of Sangiovese, and it’s light and crisp, like those from Provence.
- Andrew Murray Vineyards makes a nice rosé of Cinsault, which is its Esperance rosé, following in Andrew’s style of ripe fruit and bracing acidity.
- Blair Fox Cellars does a double whammy, making a rosé of Grenache, and also sparkling rosé of Grenache! They are also family-owned and organically-farmed. (In case you’re wondering, other wineries that also do a double whammy of rosé and sparkling rosé are Alma Rosa, Summerland, Riverbench and Palmina.)
Have fun with these wines and don’t forget to Drink Pink!
