Wine Reviews: A Wine Story » rose

Ugo Chiola – Story of a Modern Italian Winemaker?

Marisa D'Vari — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:03:16 +0000

Ugo Chiola

Mr. Chiola, producer of Barolo and an incredibly delicious rose wine made from Nebbiolo grapes, was energetic and lively during the 10 - 2 session of producers looking for American distribution.

His wines were incredibly crafted, yet his personal story is larger -- he owns a spa and hotel adjacent to his winery, where patrons can relax among the vines.

I've noticed this trend in various regions around the world, most recently in Portugal where a young woman with a wealthy father is not just planting new vineyards, but is also creating a luxury hotel (the spot is an hour away from Lisbon). Given that the producer is well capitalized, it seems a very savvy business choice - on that same Portugal trip, I found many small (also ex-pat) winemakers who made more money from creating weddings and running an active B & B from wine.

Mr. Chiola's wines were extremely well crafted, yet in this competitive marketplace, one must ask the question: is producing wine alone enough to survive?

Wines for Summer Salads

Marisa D'Vari — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Now that summer is winding down, it's time to enjoy an al fresco picnic in the park. I recently had the opportunity to taste two affordable California wines that would be perfect pairings with the elegant salads of summer.

In France, they are referred to as "composed salads" unlike the leafy green salads most Americans consume before an entree. Composed salads can be constructed from many ingredients, yet unlike a salad from PAX they are artfully arranged to please both the eye and palate.

Pair these elegant salads with either or both of two new wines I've tried from Waterstone Winery in Napa. The Cabernet Sauvignon rose ($12) would be perfect with a composed salad starring salmon or pork. This is a very dry rose, with an elegant finish of tart raspberries. The Pinot Gris ($18) is bursting with a sun-warmed pear aroma and would be a great match with chicken or shrimmp.

Try this picnic idea before summer is a memory!

Kosher Wines for Rosh Hashanah

Marisa D'Vari — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Kosher Wines for Rosh Hashanah

“This is delicious!” exclaims a friend, tasting a wine and requesting a second glass. “Are you sure it’s Kosher?”

If you are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, this year, you are in for a delicious treat. For much of this century, most families sipped the sweet, grape-y Manishevitz. Today you will find some excellent, affordable, and delicious Kosher wines being produced in regions around the world that quite often outshine non-Kosher wines at a similar price point.

If you are hosting a large party, you might take the opportunity to stock up on several different Kosher wines so you can serve a few as an aperitif, and then pair them with different courses. At the end of the evening, you might also ask your guests which wines they liked the best, and make note of your favorites for your next trip to the wine shop. Most of these wines are so delicious you will want to serve them all year round.

Below are tasting notes on several Kosher wines readily available through an online wine shop or at your local wine store or market. As many of the side dishes served at Rosh Hashanah are sweet, these selected wines will pair nicely with honey cake, carrots, apples dipped in honey, and other delights that represent sweet good fortune for the coming year.

Chardonnay

***2006 Baron Herzog Chardonnay Special Reserve Kosher, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA $13

Buttery croissant on the nose and medium-bodied palate of ripe, vanilla scented baked white-fleshed fruit on the palate. Medium-plus finish of spiced baked pear. Incredible value for the price, great structure and robust flavors. This wine can work as an aperitif on its own or to accompany full-flavored Rosh Hashanah dishes such as baked chicken or fish.

****2006 Herzog Wines Chardonnay Kosher Central Coast, CA $13 BEST BUY
Succulent aromas of jasmine, honeysuckle, and ripe tropical fruit leap out before a satisfying palate of citrus, pineapple, and ripe sweet mango. If you like the spiced baked apple style of Chardonnay with its butter style and hint of oak, this great value wine offers a new twist.

Sauvignon Blanc

**2005 Weinstock Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Select Kosher Sonoma Valley, CA $10
Intriguing wine with its nose of heavy white flowers and ripe yellow-fleshed fruit. Near full-bodied palate reveals a walnut character along with the fruit, also apparent on the finish, which makes it an appropriate pairing for denser fish such as sturgeon.

***2007 Spencer Hill Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc Kosher Australia $17
Honeysuckle, soft ripe tropical fruit on the nose, juicy papaya and very ripe banana balances to balance the lime and racing acidity on the palate. Light yet complex with its interplay of delicate flavors, it’s a good match for light first courses and salads.

Pinot Gris

****2007 Goose Bay Pinot Gris Marlborough Kosher New Zealand $22
Quality wine to serve as a delicious mouth watering aperitif with its juicy ripe apple, marinated pear and vanilla bean flavors. Rich mouthfeel and long finish
redolent of baked spiced apple. Excellent choice for this high holiday dinner.

Rose

***2006 Binyamina Zinfandel Rosé Kosher Galilee, Israel $13
Delicious, easy-sipping aperitif or first-course wine with delicate yet lively ripe raspberry and strawberry aroma and flavors. Dry with a medium plus, pleasantly pungent finish of raspberry leaf, a great match for many Rosh Hashanah dishes.

**2005 Bartenura Provincia di Pavia Kosher Italy $14
Tiny tart strawberries and fresh-picked raspberries on the nose carry over to the palate, with just enough acidity to keep this delicate wine refreshing. A good pairing with lightly-dressed salads, vegetable-oriented appetizers, and light broth-based soups.

**2006 Barkan Sangiovese Rose Kosher Galilee, Israel $11
Fruit-forward (ultra-ripe strawberry, blackberry, red-fleshed ripe plums) with assertive tannins, this deeply-colored wine is intense enough to pair with dishes such as brisket.

***2005 Monte Olivio Opinioni Rosé Kosher Italy $17
Delicious Rosé with sharp red floral aroma and palate with attractive slightly bitter finish. Thirst-quenching as an aperitif that also stimulates one’s appetite and a great pairing with summer dishes such as poached or grilled salmon, salad, and most appetizers.

Ratings are on a four star system

Review: Fat Bastard Rose

Marisa D'Vari — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:17:37 +0000

Quick! What is the first thing that springs to mind when you think of a very pretty glass of pink-colored rosé wine? Call me a mind reader, but I'm guessing that images of fashionable French resorts like St. Tropez, St. Barts, or California's Laguna Beach spring to mind - and of course, rap stars like P. Diddy and Fifty Cent would have it on their gleaming white yachts. If you were dining uptown (or downtown) at one of the fashionable outdoor cafes in Manhattan, you would have a bottle of rosé in a cooler to grace the table.

Now here's the good news: real men drink rosé - or so it appears. Curiously, "real men" needed to be assured it was okay for them to eat quiche a generation ago - at least, that was the message in Bruce Feirstein's book Real Men Don't Eat Quiche in the early eighties, a satire questioning stereotypes about masculinity.

Now P.Diddy...okay, I'm sure everyone can imagine him cracking open a bottle of the popular pink French Domaine Ott on one of his yachts as he slices through the crystal green waters of Sardinia, Italy. Some of us might have a bit more trouble seeing rapper Fifty Cent, with his incredible muscles and tattoos, sipping a rosé wine, but since Fifty Cent is increasingly all about fashion and style, sure, I can see it. Kinda. Sorta.

Clearly, though, some people (read: men) might need more affirmation that sipping rosé is fashionable, cool, and does not imply anything more about their sexuality other than that they have good taste - and it's true. Not only is rosé the cool drink of choice, it pairs well with many appetizers and you can't beat it for looks at a pool party. So what's a thirsty man to do?

Enter Fat Bastard rosé, appropriately named for men who want to drink pink but need affirmation they are indeed a real man by doing so. Despite its bold, eyebrow-raising name, Fat Bastard 2007 Rosé is actually a very delicious rosé wine produced in my favorite region of France, the Languedoc, from the Syrah grape variety. It is a gorgeous pink rosé color, with bright flavors of raspberry, red licorice, and hints of seductive Indian spice. Despite its color, it is not a feminine wine. Though some dry rosés have a subtle amount of tannin, the tannin here (grape tannin as opposed to tannin from oak aging) is a bit more aggressive, rendering the wine more textural and thus a bit more suitable for "masculine" dishes as pork or composed salads with beef.

Shakespeare was quite correct when he said "a rose by any other name will smell as sweet," yet he was not living in 2008 when names carry a great deal of weight. According to some Internet stories, the wine was thus named when a colleague told the winemaker it was a "fat bastard of a wine," meaning the wine had a great deal of body. To be very honest, the name is very much in keeping with the trend of curious wine names. In one store in New York's Upper East Side, I was surprised to see almost an entire row of wines with names like "Mommy's 5:00 treat."

At any rate, Fat Bastard happens to be a very good dry rosé that pairs with a wide variety of cuisine and sells for a very affordable (about $9) price. Try it - you will like it.