Rose - August 11th, 2010 - Ms Abbie

Rose - August 11th, 2010 - Ms Abbie

Watch this CBS clip about South African Wines supported by ISAW Foundation
"All from a sip of Rose!"

Wikipedia: Rose is made with red grapes through skin contact, saignee, or blending.
Pairings: Eggs stuffed with smoked salmon and caviar, oven-dried tomato tart with goat cheese and black olives, spinach salad with strawberry vinaigrette, figs with goat cheese, rosemary, honey toast, wild mushrooms.
About: Rose wine is not a varietal, but can be made from various red grapes. It has the color typical of red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near purplish, depending on the varietal(s) and techniques used to make the Rose wine.

We selected this wine for August, as it is served chilled, and August is such a hot month of the year.

Tasting Notes:
0. Honorary wine of the evening: 2009 Seven Sisters Twena Pinotage Rose - $16.99 at Wine Shoe
rosy pink, slight haze but mostly clear in color. medium sweet to off-dry in the mouth, light fruits, strawberry color and berry flavors, someone noted a light raspberry flavor (not tart though). very pleasant!

1. 2009 Nostrada Rose (Tarragona DOC) $7.99 at Total Wine
ruby blush color, light dry, alcohol aroma, Kat says almost like cough syrup - can we say that? acidic, makes me pucker, has legs, full-bodied Rose, floral overtones in the aroma, Marilyn says this would pair well with salmon or fish

2. 2009 Cellier du Rhone (Cotes du Rhone) Rose $5-6 at Trader Joes
no aroma at all, light fruit but evaporates quickly, rose petal aroma, off-dry, tart, like a "pink pinot grigio", pastel/pink/orange color

3. 2009 Cotes De Provence (Domaine Fontanyl) - $15.99 at Total Wine
earned the nickname "peachy keen" due to it's peach color, and peach aroma, no legs (or "Skinny Legs and All" - as we joked), tart, light, lovely bottle (we were told it is often purchased as a gift, due to it's unique and pleasing bottle shape).

4. 2008 Pinot Noir Rose La Crema (Russian River Valley) - $20 direct from winery
musty, mushroom aroma, oaky? has fuller strawberry flavor, light acidity, strawberry finish, and has some sort of herb/spice (Abbie says almost like mustard or tumeric) thing going on. Later when we unveiled the bottles, we found the clue on the back of the bottle, it was Red Licorice and tea leaves. ABBIE's FAVE tonight!

5. 2007 Chateau Ste. Michelle Nellie's Garden Dry Rose (Columbia Valley) - $11.99 at Total Wine (?)
watermelon/jolly rancher/raspberry color, cranberry juice color, tart, cran/ras/ocean spray flavor, like "chambord in champagne", acidic at first, then lingers like a french kiss.

6. Blason De Bourgogne (Cremant de Bourgogne) Brut Rose $10.99 Trader Joes
funky smell, not pleasant, horrid nose, yeasty smell,
Kat says would be good with Orange Juice
Marilyn says would be refreshing as a spritzer
creamy head flavor, 90% pinot noir, 10% gamay

We dined on:
Made By Hand Products - Bruschetta
Strawberries, Kiwi
Goat Cheese
Gorgonzola Crackers
Marys Gone Crackers - Gluten Free Crackers
Olives - Sevilla and Kalamata
Roasted Red Pepper Spread
French Bread
Sauteed Mushrooms
Carrots/Celery and Peppercorn Ranch Dip

Other fun items to note:
Mimosa recipe
champagne, pink grapefruit juice, splash of St. Germain
Tequila recommendation from Marilyn - De Familia (gold color)
Tequila recommendation from Abbie - Gran Centenario Rosangel
Restaurant Recommendation: Terra Humata

ISAW Stephen on CBS Atlanta!

ISAW on CBS Atlanta

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share this link from CBS, and am asking you all to do the same. http://www.cbsatlanta.com/positively-georgia/index.html

As always, our funding and awareness efforts are grassroots and depend on you guys pushing this forward. Much love and many thanks for your ongoing support.

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Drink Well, Do Good,
Stephen Satterfield