A bone dry ros?turns heads.
It breaks from the pack of the sweeter ros?, appealing to both the red and white wine drinker looking for something cool and refreshing, a serious quench.
That's precisely what gave the edge to our Wine of the Week winner -- the Chateau de Campuget, 2012 Costieres de Nimes Ros?Rhone Wine, France at $11. It's a striking ros?with refreshing acidity and notes of currant, raspberry and mineral. It has great balance and a crisp finish.
The 2012 vintage of ros? is just rolling onto the market and "there's an explosion in popularity with dry ros?" said Ben Pearson of Santa Rosa's Bottle Barn. "People are realizing they're a fairly sophisticated quaff, and just because they're pink doesn't mean they're sweet, cloying and insipid."
Pearson said he doesn't know of any single category that's growing faster with both domestic and imports.
"There never used to be German ros? but a woman came in just last week and showed me 10," said Pearson, adding that with few exceptions they're an inexpensive purchase, with good ones in the $8 and $9 range.
Some ros? are so crisp they're austere, while others are a touch softer. Several of the wines in the flight had refreshing acidity like the Chateau de Campuget, and an appealing crisp character, like the Pedroncelli, the Balletto and the River Road.
For the uninitiated, pink ros? have a wide range of color, from pale to deep pink, depending on the amount of time the grapeskins are left on after picking. Varietals used to make the wine are plentiful, and they also can be used in making a blend. They include pinot noir, syrah, grenache, merlot, malbec, cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, sangiovese and zinfandel. As for the flavor profile, it also runs the gamut, but it typically leans toward citrus, watermelon, raspberry, cherry and strawberry.
Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.
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