This past Saturday, March 28th, the Annual Rhone Rangers Weekend took place dockside at the Craneway Conference Center in Richmond. This is the second year the event has been in Richmond, but it was my first time there. What a venue! Bight and spacious with outstanding views of the bay.
My favorite part of the Rhone Rangers events are the seminars. I always come away from them with a greater perspective and deeper understanding regarding the many aspects of winemaking. This year the morning seminar topics were on Roses Made from Rhone Varieties and the Age-ability of American Rhones. Both were excellent.
TAKE THE QUIZ!
Below is the list of the panelists and the host with quotes from the Rosé seminar. Can you match up who said what about Rose? This may prove easy for true wine geeks, and challenging for others. But give it a try. {ANSWERS BELOW}
1. Patrick Comisky, Wines & Spirits Magazine
2. Randall Grahm, Bonny Doon Vineyards
3. Larry Schaffer, Tercero Wines
4. Ranko Anderson, Kale
5. Herb Quady, Quady North
6. John MacCready, Sierra Vista
7. Craig Camp, Cornerstone Cellars
8. Jason Robinson, Field Stone
9. Steve Anglim, Anglim Winery
A: “It started out as a way to concentrate the Reds, but evolved to a become a Rosé.”
B: “Rosé not something you really want to talk about, you just want to drink it. Talking about Rosé is like discussing the semantics of Scooby-Doo.”
C: “I am in search of getting to the ‘truthiness’ of the wine Rosé.”
D: “I make it to please my wife, to capture a happy memory.”
E: “We planted the vines specifically for Rosé. It was a marketing objective. The magic loss leader we put in front of buyers, Somms, and Wine Directors. Our grape is obscure but it has a high geek factor.”
F: “I want to approach all our wines, Red, White, and Rosé with equal respect and serious consideration to making them the best possible.”
G: “Our first Rosé started out as a Red but I did not think it was good enough as a full Red, so we made a Rosé and the customers have loved it ever since.”
H: I don’t think there is just one wine that can be called a true Rosé. There is no such thing as a true Rosé My focus is on food wines and the acidity of Rosé pairs so well with food.
I: “Rosé --it's part of our line up!”
The line up of Rosés included:
Anglim 2014 Rose: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Viognier
Bonny Doon Vineyard 2012 Vin Gris de Cigare Reserve En Bonbonne: Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsaut
Cornerstone Cellars 2014 Corallina Rose Artist Series Rosé: 100% Syrah
Field Stone Winery 2014 “Heritage Block”Rosé: 100% Petite Sirah
Kale Wines Sonoma County Rosé: 85% Whole Cluster Pressed Grenache, 15% Saignée of Syrah
Quady North Rose Applegate (OR) Rosé: 80 % Counoise, 20% Syrah
Sierra Vista 2014 Rosé of Grenache
Tercero Wines 2014 Rosé of Mourvedre
{ANSWERS: 1B, 2C, 3H, 4A, 5E, 6G, 7F, 8I, 9D}
Stay tuned for next post on findings from the second seminar on the age worthiness of American Rhone wines.
