Winery of the Month – JUNE 2019
Rose Wines
Let’s talk about Rose wines for the summer. Rose is not just a recent fad. It has been around for a long time with many thinking that the first wines were rose. This probably had more to do with technology and knowledge than a stylistic choice. Rose wines have been outselling white wines in France for a little over 10 years now. Rose wines account for 30% of all wine sold in France. While we here across the pond may have only recently noticed this trend, we have seen large double-digit growth rates for several years. Rose wine now accounts for 11% of all wine sold in this country. This accomplishment is impressive in face of a slowdown in the overall alcohol Market.
Most of that slowdown may be from domestic light beers, but I digress. Rose does seem to appeal more to the younger generations than the older. Contrary to popular belief, women and men consume rose in the same amounts. The lower alcohol and lighter body make them more appealing to the health conscious and their ability to pair with a vast array of food makes them good for just about any social occasion. They are easy and need no time to breathe or fancy decanter. They are completely unpretentious and only need a non-leaking vessel in which to pour them. Add in a few celebrity winemakers and some famous people from Instabook (or some other social media thing that I have no idea about) and you have the makings for some superb growth rates. They also taste good, which I think is still important today. Anyways on to some wine.
Calvalchina Bardolina Chiaretto
This one is always one of our best sellers. The winery dates to the early 1900’s and is located just outside the town of Custoza, which is near Verona. The grape blend is the same as that of Valpolicellas: Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara. A lighter bodied wine with mainly fresh red berry fruit and some peach. There also always seems to be a very light herbal characteristic like rosemary or basil.
Regularly $17.99 Sale $13.99
Casa Bella Provincia di Pavia Rose of Pinot Grigio
This is an interesting rose. Most do not realize that Pinot Grigio’s skin is actually pink. So by leaving the skins in the wine for a little while you can actually make a rose. You will get some familiar pinot grigio flavors like pear and white flowers while some interesting pomegranate and raspberry are also present.
Regularly $17.99 Sale $13.99
Marramiero Da Ma Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
Marramiero is another winery that is more than a century old. It specializes in making wines from traditional Abruzzese grape varieties. The Da Ma name stems from the first and last names of the company’s founder, Dante Marramiero. The wine is a medium bodied rose showing a floral nose and flavors of bright red cherry.
Regularly $18.99 Sale $14.99
Istine Rosato Toscano
Angela Fronti’s family is in the vineyard construction and management business, so winemaking was not a stretch. The wine is composed of 100% sangiovese grapes and obtains its color by sitting on the skins for 1 day. Raspberry and strawberry abound in this fresh and vibrant rose.
Regularly $17.99 Sale $13.99
Airfield Sangiovese
Airfield Estates comes from Washington state. The name refers to the fact that the site of the vineyards was an Aarmy Air Corps training base during WWII. After the war it was converted into a multipurpose farm and then in the 70s it became a vineyard. While the flavors of raspberry and strawberry are similar to the Istine, there are some differences, try them side by side and see if you can guess which one is from where.
Regularly $16.99 Sale $13.99