Walk into any wine retailer and there has been a display of rose’ wines since late spring. This is not your grandma’s rose’. Remember that 1.5 liter jug? It was cloyingly sweet and has been likened to raspberry Kool-Aid.
While California was producing this truly unpalatable beverage, France has been producing fine rose’ for years. Various red grapes are used and roses’ complement many summer menus from salmon to salads to sandwiches.
Rob Griffin at Barnard-Griffin made one of the first Washington roses. It was almost on a whim and sold out immediately. He uses 100% sangiovese. When rose’ wine is the primary product, it is produced with the skin contact method. Red grapes are crushed and the skins are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for a short period, typically one to three days. The longer that the skins are left in contact with the juice, the more intense the color of the final wine.
“We’re very serious about this festive and flavorful dry wine,” said Winemaker and Owner Rob Griffin. “Quality rose’ starts with grapes grown specifically for this purpose. The best roses’ are a deliberate result of careful winemaking, not an incidental byproduct of red production. Our rose’ is conceived in the vineyard at pruning and matured to be crisp, lean and fruity. We are very proud of this wine and its unbroken string of gold medals going back to our first bottling in 2002. We are thrilled to announce yet another gold medal in the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition.”
Keep in mind that any red grape and/or combination of red grapes can be used and has been used to make rose’…cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese, tempernillo, etc. Barnard Griffin uses 100% sangiovese. In contrast, Charles and Charles also of Washington uses 72% syrah, 8% mourvedre, 8% cabernet sauvignon, 6% grenache, 3%b cinsault and 3% counoise. Long Shadows in Walla Walla makes Julia’s Dazzle, a blend of 98% pinot gris which is a white grape and 2% sangiovese. In Oregon, the home state for pinot noir, it is not surprising that most of the roses’ are pinot noir.
Many of our small Washington wineries make exceedingly fine roses’ but are hard to find unless you are on their list or happen to be at the winery. Betz, DeLille and Avennia produce wonderful roses’.
White zinfandel is considered by some to be included in the category of rose’ but more serious wine aficionados exclude white zinfandel.
In the Provence region in France, roses’ make up half to almost two thirds of all the wine produced. Grenache is the dominant grape often blended with syrah, cinsault, mourvedre and cabernet sauvignon. Miraval is the French rose’ you might want to try if you want to drink celebrity wine. It is from the winery owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Certainly a conversation starter. They bought the winery where they married and then hired one of France’s notable wine makers. Miraval has received good reviews from critics. 90 points plus from both Wine Advocate and Wine & Spirits.
For comparison, I strongly suggest buying a Washington and a French rose’. Open them at the same time to compare.
WASHINGTON STATE ROSES’
Barnard-Griffin $11
Long Shadows Julia’s Dazzle $16
Maryhill $11
Waterbrook $11
Airfield $14
FRENCH ROSES’
Miraval $16
LaVielle Ferme $9
AIX $15
Calendar note: Mercer Island’s Second Annual Art Uncorked, Sept. 11.
Dee Hitch can be reached at rockypointlane@aol.com.
