When you blink, do you see pink? Don’t bother checking the mercury level in the thermometer. Rosé season has launched, and winemakers have released the pink juice to kick off the season of fun-in-the-sun. Retailers and wine shop shelves across the nation are overflowing with plethora’s of pink wine to please almost any palate.
Although, still underappreciated (arguably), according to an article published in 2017 by Forbes, rose popularity is continuing to climb, “Rosé represents a mere 1.5% of the U.S. table wine market, but sales climbed 53%.”
No longer are Provence and the Rhône the only regions to seek out delicious Rosé wines. The fact is the Eastern region of the U.S. is also producing some lovely dry Rosés that are affordable, and seriously drinkable year-round. Rosé happens to be one of my favorite go-to wines for the holidays.
About #ECWineChat
Recently, I participated in an outstanding Twitter-based chat, #ECWineChat, featuring Eastern U.S. rosé wines. Writer, Frank Morgan – creator of the award-winning wine blog, Drink What You Like – conducts the virtual tastings each month, or so, inviting wine bloggers, winemakers, and consumers to join in the conversation.
The Tasting
I have had the pleasure in the past of sipping some excellent Virginia dry rosés and thoroughly enjoyed sampling a few alongside other east coast rosés. All of the wines were uniquely expressive, quality rosés that showed well. I can’t wait to explore more rosés produced in the Eastern U.S., – something I would have likely never considered before now.
Here are the 4 Rosé wines we tasted during the chat (in alphabetical order).
Beneduce Vineyards – Row’s End
Bright zingy citrus notes with red berries, watermelon and subtle whiffs of rose.
Grapes for this wine are hand-harvested, chilled, and whole cluster pressed. To allow for early harvesting, two acres of Blaufrankisch is specifically grown for this dry rose. Harvesting the grapes early allows for the retention of natural acid which produces a crisp, bright flavors. The winery produces approximately 575 case per year which retails for $19/ bottle.
Williamsburg Winery Rosé
Medium salmon in color. Full bodied with flavors of red fruit and heavy nuances of Viognier, finishing clean and refreshing.
Blend: Cabernet Franc, Vidal Blanc and Viognier. 2017 Wessex Hundred Dry Rosé is Winemaker Matthew Meyers favorite Rosé of those he has produced. The Cabernet Franc sat on the skins for 24 hrs before bleeding off some of the juice for the Rosé -Saignee Method. Fermented in stainless steel for 7 days.’ 980 cases produced. $16 per bottle.
Junuis Lindsay Vineyards – Special Delivery
Subtle elegant pink in color. Red berries and soft florals on the nose. Delightfully dry, slightly under-ripened strawberries, vibrant acidity. Very flavorful. ‘This wine is made primarily from Grenache grapes in true Provençal style. The grapes are picked early, with low brix (way to measure the potential alcohol content of a wine before it’s made by determining the sugar level in grapes), and high acid, designed specifically to make a grenache-based rosé.”
Rosemont Vineyards Rosé
Deep salmon in color. Watermelon, juicy red fruit and nice herbal notes with a slightly sharp finish. Loads of flavor but still very dry. Made from 100% Chambourcin grown specifically for Rose’, grapes are picked early to maintain thier natural acidity, whole cluster pressed cold using only first juice out of press, fermented and aged in Stainless Steel. 450 cases bottled, retails for $18.95 a bottle.
Disclaimer: media samples, Opinions expressed are solely my own
