JULY 2014

PINK Party - all Rose' wines and the foods to pair


Rose's are an interesting topic. Great for summer, hors d'oeurves, pre dinner, sunsets, picnics, brunch... I could go on for ever.  We've been fans for decades.

So many people are uncertain about Rose's, mostly because of style. Our Rose' is 100% Pinot Noir made from the Saignee method of bleeding small amounts of juice from the Pinot Noir within the first hour of going into tank. There is also a small amount that drips off the sorting table added.

We process the juice in stainless steel to retain all the natural acidity. Our Rose' is just off bone dry.
I like high acid bone dry but as it turns out our customers like just a touch of natural sweet.

For our Rose' seminar, we decided to show three rose's. Two still wines from: one from the current Vintage 2013 and the other from 2012. In the process of our growth, Mat & I, huge fans of sparkling wine, are now producing a Brut Rose'. We did a trial year which was not disgorged and no dosage added. It is a bone dry sparkling, this was the third wine of the evening.


As per our usual set up for the Foodie Seminars, each guest has 3 glasses lined up in front with the three different wines. And then each course is introduced individually for everyone to taste with each wine. The line up of  food pairings for this Rose' evening is as follows:

We picked the classic raw oysters on the half shell with a Raspberry mignonette to start.

Second course, Smoked Salmon Mousse

Third course - Mediteranean Frittata

Fourth course - Strawberry and Goat Cheese Sandwich

The results of favorite pairings is always so much fun. To see how people discover something surprising and new to them. How much this attention to pairing can enhance all your dining pleasure.

The favorite wine of the night was our Sparkling Rose, not for sale. Our 2012 Brut Rose will release sometime in 2015. Still needs to complete second fermentation, disgorge...

1) Oysters - 70% liked the Sparkling best
2) Salmon Mousse - 2013 Rose' won the next pairing with 2012 coming in 2nd
3) Frittata - 2013 Rose' won this also, Sparkling 2nd and then 2012.
      It was discussed that depending on the bite each wine had it's opportunity.
4) Strawberry / goat cheese Sandwich - 2013 won again Although Sparkiling and 2012 were tied closely for 2nd.

We all chatted about how each Rose' had a relavence to each dish and the dish was enhanced from each wine differently. How much food changes wine and vice versa.

Another fun night!

We finished with fresh strawberries served with shaved bitter sweet chocolate.