Did you Think Pink? It's Wine Blogging Wednesday #9

(Incorporating Quiz Question number 5)


When I volunteered, back in 2004, to host a wine blogging Wednesday, and Lenn and myself agreed on on the month of May and the subject of rosé, I pictured myself lazily hanging out on the deck one early summer Sunday afternoon, mindlessly munching on some delectable homemade nibbles whilst supping a delightful, chilled glass of pink wine.

Of course, reality struck. Uncharacteristically, for San Francisco, it poured with rain all day. I had to spend my first Sunday in four-and-a-half-years at work. I arrived home around 8pm as the heavens reopened with renewed vigour. I had zero energy and was dreading having to make dinner. Luckily for me, my lovely English friend Ian had baked some Cornish pasties and dropped a couple off at my place earlier in the day. (Isn't he just the nicest friend)? So, that's how I came to be drinking rose and eating a peppery Cornish pastie to the sound of the rain slashing down, too late at night, for the love of a WBW that was meant to herald the start of the summer.



Seeing as nothing at all went to according to plan, I am going to my first hosting of any blogging event ever into something less than predictable too. Hey guys - I am in the middle of a quiz here. Do you think i am going to simply tell you which pink wine I chose to imbibe? Oh no, no, no. You have to guess, preferably by entering my quiz to win a $60 Amazon voucher.

The first clue, is that Fred chose this wine. He's French, so that should give you a hint as to its origin. Before we even got to the store, he'd decided on the village from where our bottle would have traveled to the USA. There was only one choice of this appellation available and it was a great value at just $9.99.

Our tasting notes: A very reddish pink with the indescribable fresh scent of summer tinged with a whisper of strawberry milkshake. It is elegant, dry and crisp with the slightest hint of the juice from a tin of strawberries. It slides across the tongue with such ease, that a whole bottle disappears before you even realise it's all gone.



Another Clue: This is how Wilfred Wong describes the exact wine we drank: Simply stunning, the extravagant ? is the best of the pinks; dry, crisp and exploding with delicious strawberry flavors; great with fresh ham.

More clues: Notes about this Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
-It is the only rosé wine present on all of the wine menus of the French 3 star restaurants.
-Located just 8 miles west of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the village has been said to exist "for the sole purpose of producing wine".
-An elite wine, the wine of kings.
-It stands out from other French rosé wines with its gustatory characteristics, its history and techniques.
-Typically, this wine is made by allowing the cepage, or blend of red and white grapes to macerate in stainless steel tanks from 24 to 72 hours to gather color and flavor from the skins of the grapes. The free run juice that results from this vatting time is then removed. The solid mass of grapes called "marc", that remains is subsequently pressed. The light, delicate free run juice is later combined with a percentage of the darker, drier, fuller-flavored press wine.





Quiz Question - Which bottle of rosé did we drink? Vineyard, year, name?
(keep the answer to yourself until next week when the quiz finishes)

The WBW entries are already rolling in. Ten so far! Keep them coming. You can email me here with your Pink Wine Post I won't be able to round up up the results before the weekend at the earliest, so don't worry if you are a day or two late. I look forward to reading them all. And, thank you so much for participating!

posted in WBW and Wine

Did you Think Pink? It's Wine Blogging Wednesday #9