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Rosé Wine Tasting in Los Olivos: 6 Stellar Rosés

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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).

Larner rose wine
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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Kaena Wines makes a more complex rosé of Grenache, a pretty wine that can easily stand up to summer barbecues.
  4. Coquelicot has a Rosé of Sangiovese, and it’s light and crisp, like those from Provence.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!

Rounded Acidity: Tercero Grenache Blanc

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I think my very favorite thing in wine is acid. I’ll take an elegant, restrained and acidic European wine over a Napa cult cab or Paso fruit bomb with any cheese plate! Acid in wine is what makes it go well with food. Think of it as the lemon on your fish, lightening and freshening the dish. It also helps clear your mouth between bites and get you ready for more. If you are eating a heavy meat with a heavy sauce, think about what that would be like with a heavy wine as well! Not easy to digest my friend. I would suggest a wine with some acid in it.

But the best wines have a perfect balance: a good amount of acid as well as balanced fruit, interesting flavors and a well-rounded body (kind of like the perfect mate). And Tercero’s Grenache Blanc achieves that beautifully. Tercero wines in Santa Barbara wine country are consistent year after year in their superb ability to go well with food. Larry Schaffer has been making wines for almost 10 years including a stint learning the craft at Fess Parker winery in the Santa Ynez Valley. Now he single-handedly runs his small boutique wine company, making over 13 different wines for his tasting room in the bustling town of Los Olivos while concurrently raising 3 children and being active in the community. Kind of like the perfect man.

This 2010 Grenache Blanc is fresh, crisp and has notes of fresh fruits like peach, orange and lemon as well as some mineral/stone flavors. It’s medium-bodied with a long finish and is perfect for a variety of foods (great for pasta with spring vegetables) or just chilled on a warm day. It’s kind of like the perfect white wine.