field notes : It's Time for Rosé!

Finally - time to sit back and relax. It’s sumptuous summertime and it’s time for rosé! There are as many Oregon rosés on the market as there are wineries in the WV. But I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet. Rosé has become the unofficial summer sipper in Oregon wine country and after a weekend like the one we just experienced (very, very, very warm), I ran to the market and stocked up for the rest of the summer. These wines are produced to drink now and sell out fast. So it's time to sit back and enjoy this delightful, refreshing wine with the bright, fresh fruit flavors of strawberries, raspberries, or cherries.

This isn’t that other pink wine we have come to disparage for it’s lack of character and excessive sweetness. The Oregon rosé is made in the style of the wines from Southern France, dry, with a light complexity and the perfect balance of acidity which works so well with the light, simple food of summer.

Pink from pinot noir, syrah, grenache, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon or sangovaise grapes which are soaked in their red skins for a few hours - compared to a few days (or weeks) for red wines. How deeply colored the rosé becomes depends on the grape type and, obviously, how long it sits.

Believe me - this wine is the essence of summer. Always served chilled, a wine made to be enjoyed with friends and family on the patio, porch, deck, backyard – anywhere out-of-doors - savoring the warmth and glory days of summer.

Now speaking of food, I’m beginning to reap the benefits of all those vegetable plants I so enthusiastically planted and nurtured through late spring and early summer. Since I’m an eating fool, what better way to enjoy the dishes of summer - dishes like panzanelia, salade Nicioise, tabouli, ratatoulli , etc. - than with a perfect glass of yummy chilled rose (check out the “Must Have Recipes" at the bottom of the post).

One of my favorite little starters, which is great with rosé, is broiled procuitto-wrapped peach slices. The original recipe from Food & Wine Magazine, uses pancetta which I have changed to procuitto which I prefer. I also spread a dab of blue cheese onto the sliced peach wedge, then add a bit of basil leave before I wrap it up with a small piece of procuitto. Broil it for a few minutes, til it’s hot and slightly bubbly, then drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and serve. Yum.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, it’s also good to know that rosé wines are relatively inexpensive in the world of classy Oregon wines. Most run between $10 and $20 dollars averaging about $15 on down. As a table wine they offer incredible paring possibilities, by themselves, sitting on the deck watching the sun go down, wonderfully drinkable and affordable – a real winner.

Life is good, bye for now. Evelyn