Enter your email address below to join Wine Women Online!
Not sure about becoming a member? Take a look at our Membership Benefits!
Already A Member?
Click Here To Log In
Rosé-The Endless Summer Sip Part Deux
WineWomenOnline shall sing praises to Rosé one last time before our grand summertime weather turns to cool autumn breezes and we must part with the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. We finalize our commentary with two very distinct Rosés that offer great drinking appeal.
Our first Rosé winesip featured is the Rosé des Karantes (kahr-ahnt') 2006 grown and produced in the La Clape area of Coteaux du Languedoc in southern France. This is a wonderful Rosé for this transitional time of year. It is a hearty blend of mourvèdre, syrah, grenache and carignan grape and is really one spicy number. It brings to the table much more maturity than typical Rosés lending itself to a definite Syrah character-earthy, spicy, mineral, and pepper spirit. Good acidity and verve with a bright strawberry color- it is fantasticmo, and at $10, it is wine value hard to beat.
Another reason to purchase Rosé des Karantes above and beyond the enjoyability factor is that the owners, Jean-Jacques Fertal, Mary-France Oudin, and Dr. Walter Knysz, are Michigan residents. Jean-Jacques and Dr. Walter Knysz also own Eagle Eye Imports located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They purchased Chateau des Karantes in 2005 and released their first wines from the 2005 vintage. You can find their wine in many Michigan markets; they have eye-catching labels, designed by French artist Michel Cros making them easy to locate in the French wines section.
The second Rosé tasted was Tegernseerhof Zweigelt Rose 2006 from Austria. This is a red wine grape variety developed in 1922 by crossing native grape varieties Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. It is now the most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria. There are several Austrian Rosés on the market and they seem to possess a very austere quality. They take a bit of getting used to but pair nicely with food and need to be given a chance. This wine had a very faint Rose petal color; it was enjoyable and very unique. It had a watermelon seed, watermelon juice quality, and mineral characteristic. It would pair nicely with swordfish steak or barbeque chicken. This wine is also a value at $10.00.
If you would like to know where to purchase these wines please inquire at: contactus@winewomenonline.com and we will be happy to provide you with the names of local merchants who carry these wines.
© 2007 WineWomenOnline
Created: 8/31/2007 Edited: 1/25/2008