Rosé, Rosato, Red and Sparkling for Summer

Whether you prefer rose’, rosato or red, here are 8 wines to enjoy this summer ranging from $13 to $25

Prosecco DOC Rose Extra Dry Millesimato (Veneto) Organic and Vegan made from 85% Glera and 15% Pinot Noir, Growth system is silo and the harvest is mechanized. There is a soft cold crushing and pressing. The second fermentation is for 60 days and the Charmat method is used. Residual sugar 12g/l. It has intense hints of red fruit, strawberries , raspberries, a hint of citrus and a touch of white flowers. $13.    Rosé Prosecco is very new but it seems to have become very popular.

Montefili Rosato 2020 NV (Tuscany) made from 100% Sangiovese from a 500 meter vineyard first planted in 1995. The soil is galestro and alberese and the training system is spurred cordon. Spontaneous fermentation takes place with indigenous yeast. Skin contact is for 6/7 hours and fermentation is at a low temperature. The wine remains in stainless steel tanks and then in bottles for 3 months. This is a fresh fruity wine with hints of strawberries, raspberries, a touch of red currents and good acidity.  $18

 

Rodon Bardolino Chiaretto La Fraghe made from Corvina and Rondinella from the Comuni di Affi and Cavaion Veronese. The training system is guyot and there are 5,000 vines per hectare. The exposure is south and the vineyard is at 190 meters. Corvina and Rondinella are vinified separately. They are given a cool temperature 6 to 8 hour maceration on the skins, which extracts just enough color to give a lovely, medium bodied hue to the juice. The must then ferments at a cool 17 degrees C. The finished wine matures on the lees in 50HL stainless steel tanks until the following spring when it is bottled. The wine has an elegant bouquet of strawberries and red currents while on the palate the wine is full bodied and balanced with a long finish that evokes the bouquet. $16

Baci al Sole Rosé Veneto IGT made from 40% Corvina, 40% Merlot and 20% Corvinone. After a gentle pressing, there is brief skin contact with the juice followed by temperature controlled fermentation, then  a brief passage in stainless steel. The wine has hints of honeydew melon, red berries and cherries. It is very light pink in color and it is a very food friendly.  It reminds me of some of the rosé wines I had when I was in Provence. $18

Bandol Rosé La Bastide Blanche 2018 made from 72% Mourvédre, 17% Cinsault and 11% Grenache grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides in the vineyard. The soil is clay-limestone  with cailloux. The grapes are hand harvested. There is a direct pressing of the Mourvédre and a 24 hour maceration for the Grenache and Cinsault.  Malolactic fermentation is based on the varieties. The wine remains in tanks for 4 to 10 months before being placed on the market. The wine has hints of red berries strawberry, orange and Provencal herbs. $25

Domaine de Bila-Haut ”Les Vignes” Pays d’Oc Rose’ 2018 made from 55% Grenache and 35% Syrah. Michel Chapoutier.  Located in Cõtes du Roussillon, Languedoc, France.  In the hills of the Agly Valley, the 40-year-old vines are carefully tended. The juice is fermented and aged in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. After a short maceration on the skins, a delicate pink hue is attained and the wine is racked and vinified. The wine is then carefully blended for bottling. It has hints of citrus, strawberry and a touch of raspberry. $17

 

Cantina Federiciane Montelone di Napoli Gragnano DOC Sorrento Peninsula 2019, Sparkling Wine made from Piedirosso and Sciascinoso. Fermentation with selected yeast takes place in temperature controlled autoclaves.  This is a fizzy red wine that when poured has a lot of foam that quickly disappears in the glass. It is fruity with red fruit aromas and flavors, hints of raspberries and strawberries, and easy to drink. In Naples they often drink sparkling beverages with pizza and Gragnano goes very well with pizza Margherita. Sciascinoso, also know as Olivella, is used as a blending grape. The clusters and berries are large and it is a late ripening variety. This is a very fruity aromatic wine hints of red berries, strawberry, raspberry and a touch of blueberries. $18

Vernatsch Schiva Alto Adige DOC 2019 Peter Zemmer made from a blend of various varieties of Schiava grown on the pergola, the traditional trellis system on loamy soil on the slopes around Cortaccia. The stems are immediately removed and the grapes are fermented for 8 days at a controlled temperature. The must is kept in regular contact with the skins through circulation pumping and gentle pressure from below with the ideal results for coloring from the skins and emphasizing fruitiness. This is a fresh, light fruity wine with hints of red raspberry, peaches  and light note of bitter almond on the finish. $ 19

In Provence

When we arrived in Provence the weather was very hot, just perfect for enjoying the Rosé wines from this enchanting part of France.  Of course we would drink some white wine and if the weather cooled off, a red wine or two. We had rented a house in Abignon near Carpentras. It is very near to great wine areas such as Gigondas, Beaumes de Venise, Cotes du Rhone, and Vaqueyras, so wine would not be a problem.

Buying Shrimp at the Market in Isle Sur La Sorgue

We decided to go out for one meal a day, usually lunch, and have one meal at the house. There is a large organic garden where we can pick our vegetables and there are a number of towns nearby with great farmers markets.

Veal and Langoustine

 For lunch one afternoon we went to Restaurant L’ Oustalet in Gigondas. This restaurant has a very interesting menu different from the typical ones in the area.  One of the courses I ordered was a carpaccio of veal and langoustine mixed together covered with foam. It was not what I expected but it was very good. They also have a very good wine list from which I ordered a bottle of white wine:

Coudoulet de Beaucastle 2011 Cotes- Du-Rhone made from 30% Bourboulemc, 10% Clairette, 30% Marsanna and 30% Viognier. The vines grow in a 3 acre vineyard between Orange and Avignon. There is manual harvesting, sorting of the grapes, pneumatic pressing, racking and fermentation partly in oak barrels and stainless steel tanks for 8 months. The wines are assembled and bottled without passage at low temperatures. This white wine with a mineral  and savory character, subtle citrus fruit, good acidity, a very pleasing dry finish and long aftertaste.

The Pizza

The house has a pizza oven on the property and one afternoon we decided to make pizza. Michele made the dough and I tended the fire and baked the pizzas.  With the pizza we drank:

Bandol Rosé 2012 AOC Bondol Domaine Tempier made from 50% Mourvédre, 28% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 2% Carignan. The soil is a mix of clay and limestone; it is tilled mechanically and by hand. The grapes are harvested by hand and carried in small bins of 30 kg and hand selected in the vineyard and cellar. Vinification is by direct pressing or after cold maceration or by saignées between 5 and 10 percent. This is a Rosé with a lot of body and flavor, floral overtones, peaches, a hint of spice and good acidity. The wine worked very well with the pizza with its different toppings.

Les Palliēres “ au petit Bonheur” 2012 Rosé Vin de Table- the winery is located outside the village of Gigondas.  Made from Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Clairette, the blend depending on the vintage. The soil is clay and limestone and the vines are at 250 to 400. The grapes are sourced from younger vines and the juice is obtained from directed pressing.  Fermentation takes place in 650-liter demi-muids. This is a very pleasant wine with nice fruit aromas and flavors and a hint of melon. We enjoyed this wine with the shrimp that we purchased at the market.

Sparibs

We passed a farm stand one day advertising fresh cepes, porcini mushrooms.  They were big and beautiful and Michele bought a few to serve as our appetizer that night for dinner.  She larded the caps with slices of fresh garlic, drizzled  them with olive oil and sprinkled them with fresh thyme from the garden.  After roasting in a hot oven, they were tender and meaty, just the way we have eaten them in Italy.  For a second course, we had rotisserie spareribs that we had gotten at the market in Carpentras.  The wine for the night was a perfect choice: 

Gigondas 2005 Clos du Joncuas made from 80% Grenache, and 20% Mourvedre, Cinsault and Syrah. They use organic methods in the vineyards and traditional vinification. The wine has red and black fruit aromas and flavors, hints of blackberry, blueberry and a touch of spice. It was an excellent combination with the roasted porcini mushrooms we had at the house. I do not believe this wine is imported into the US but I really liked it. The wine cost 14 Euros in the coop store in Gigondas.