Fork and Gobble It: Everything's Coming Up Roses!

Me and Elvis the Coonhound have been taking note of the changes outside the last couple of weeks. Crocuses and Daffodils are poking up along with Hyacinths and buds on the trees. Spring is really here. Yeah, it might be snowing in Pennsylvania as I write this, but there is no denying it, spring is truly here. Along with all the environmental harbingers of the season there are also vinous ones... rose wines. Real roses, not White Zinfandels, not various pink wines that exist all year long, these are the wines that come out in the spring and are around for a limited time because they are only made in small quantities.

Taditionally rose wines were a way to make the first money from a particular vintage. Real roses are made in the fall, and released the following spring. The vintage coming out now is 2010. I know. I just purchased our annual case of the very limited (and very inexpensive) Chateau Lancyre Pic St. Loup Rose 2010.

It comes from the sub-region of Pic St. Loup in the Languedoc region in southern France. Roses are meant for the most part, to be drunk young and fresh. They are generally light in body, with fresh flavors of fruit, crisp and bright acidity, and depending on their origin, different mineral components. Although some like Lancyre can age, and some age really well, you want to look for the vintage from the previous year. The bulk of roses start to develop secondary characteristics (they're starting to fall apart) after a year.

These are versatile wines that pair well with light foods, like the grilled fish or roasted chicken we prepare throughout the summer, or a simple plate of dried sausage or cheese. They also work as stand alones or cocktail wines that are balanced so as to be pleasant to drink without food.

Just about every wine producing region in the world makes a version of this seasonal wine. Many of my favorites come from Europe as I favor the less fruity styles of producers, but I have some California favorites also such as the fuller bodied rose' of Pinot Noir made by Etude.

Most of these label shots are of last years wines.

A full, round, and lush style of rose', this wine has a big mouthfull of ripe Pinot Noir fruit balanced with moderate acidity making it a good pair for grilled tuna or salmon.

Quite the other extreme is an Italian rose produced in a Tyrolian abbey in northern Italy. The Abbey of Mure-Gries makes a rosato from the local red grape Lagrein which is bone dry, minerally and very food friendly. It is one of those wines which you have to be ready to purchase when it is released as it is made in very small quantities.

Possibly one of the Holy Grails of this seasonal spawn of pink wine is the famed rose of the Provencale Bandol producer, Domaine Tempier.

While not as dark in color as some other rose wines, this wine is full of nervy mineral flavor mingled with soft fruit and the acidity that makes wines like this great. I might even go so far as to pair this with a cheeseburger (with mushrooms of course!)

In addtion to my beloved Chateau Lancyre, which is made from Grenache and Syrah and has ample fruit to make it quaffable but surely better with food, I tried another 2010 rose last night. Jean-Luc Colombo, a high quality and somewhat roguish producer in the northern Rhone Valley makes a light and very pleasant rose' made from Syrah and Mourvedre. Luckily it is plentiful. Very easy to drink and immensely refreshing, with flavors of zingy strawberry, and wet slate, I paired it with some beautiful Fluke filet cooked acqua pazza or crazy water style. Very simply, I roasted onion and potato and haricot vert with olive oil, salt and pepper, then doused the pan with white wine and poached the fish in the wine.

When the real heat of summer finally hits, I look forward to getting home and popping open one of these delicious and invigorating wines. Sounds silly, but at 5pm on a hot, humid afternoon it all becomes very clear... or rosey.