Grenache Rose Archives | Crushed Grape Chronicles

Rosé season is here, but don’t take that rosé for granted!

Jun 25, 2021

It’s International Rosé Day and if you have not already popped your first bottle of rosé, do yourself a favor and find a bottle now! Sipping rosé is self-love, sharing it with friends? Well, then you are just too generous!

I know, you may be saying, “Wait Robin! Didn’t we already celebrate Rosé Day?” Well, yes, National Rosé Day was June 12th, this is International Rosé Day. Really, are you going to argue with celebrating these wines twice this month?

We think of rosé in general, I mean, it’s right there in my title! We don’t say “Red wine season is here!” We also don’t often speak of rosé with grape varieties. We just lump all rosé together, but there is a wide variety of rosé styles, varieties, and methods, each with something different to offer. Rosé is more than just a color of wine.

Rosé is delicious and bright and it is the perfect summer sipper and now that we mostly realize that all pink wine is not going to be the sweet White Zin of our youth, people are reaching for more and more of it and you will be hard pressed to find a winery that doesn’t have at least one in their repertoire.

L’Ecole No. 41 Grenache Rosé

Alder Ridge Vineyard

Horse Heaven Hills

This month we are sampling a L’Ecole No. 41 Grenache Rosé that comes from Alder Ridge Vineyard in Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills.

Before I go and tell you about this wine, I want to break the news that this wine is sold out. Yep, rosé goes quick my friends. They released this wine in March and it was gone by mid-May.

They made just 1000 cases this year. You might, if you are really lucky, find it in a store that carries L’Ecole No. 41, a small bit of this wine gets out for distribution. There are also a few restaurants if you happen to be in Seattle, that might have some left. Other than that? This is a wine you need to order when it’s released or be a member of the wine club to get some.

I feel very lucky to have received a bottle as a sample. Back when they sent it, I don’t think they expected it to sell out so quickly.

So, what’s so special about this rosé? Well, L’Ecole No. 41 was early on the rosé train. They began making this rose in 2009. I say this rosé because they have been sourcing the grenache for this wine from Alder Ridge since this wine’s inception. The problem? They can only source so much. They will get a little more next year, enough to maybe add another 100 or so cases.

L'Ecole No. 41 2020 Grenache Rosé Alder Ridge Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills

Alder Ridge Grenache, why it makes such good Rosé

They could buy grapes off the bulk market and make more rosé, but that’s not the way they roll. They want to know the grower, or to grow it themselves. This may be a rosé, but they still strive to express the sense of place.

Marcus Rafanelli, the L’Ecole No. 41 winemaker told us what makes the Alder Ridge Vineyard Grenache so good for rosé.

“Grenache is really a late-ripening varietal…it takes a lot of heat units to get ripe. What’s nice about this site is that it is right on the Columbia River and it is a pretty warm section, but it has this view …it sits on this little bluff overlooking the Columbia River, so it gets a lot of wind in there and it gets a lot of heat in there. With this particular variety and this particular site, over the years Marty has just seen the potential. It’s a warmer site so we can get a little bit more ripening…before we pick it than we would normally get in another site.”

The beautiful Alder Ridge Vineyard overlooking the Columbia Gorge. (Photo courtesy L'Ecole No. 41)

I did tell you that they have been making this rosé since 2009. Well, perhaps not exactly this rosé. Marcus and Constance told us that it has evolved quite a bit. From a deeper maceration with much more color and a bit more residual sugar to the ballet slipper-colored wine that it is today that is dry with just a bit of residual sugar to balance out the beautiful high acidity.

This is the Provençe style rosé that everyone is clamoring for. This is the wine that makes you close your eyes and picture yourself on the beach on the French Riviera.

About making rosé

There are a couple of methods you can use to make rosé.

You can add a bit of red wine to white wine.

This method is mostly seen with sparkling rosé where the final dosage has a bit of red wine for color (Dosage or liqueur d’expedition is the wine and sweetener added after they disgorge the yeast from traditional method sparkling wine. It tops up the bottle and adjusts the sweetness level giving you that variety from Brut Nature to Doux or Sweet)

You can make the wine via the saignée method

In this method a winemaker making red wine, bleeds off some of the juice, allowing them to concentrate the red wine. This juice they have bled off then ferments to a rosé.

Or you can use the maceration method.

In this method, the grapes are grown specifically to make rosé wine. Rosé like sparkling wine needs to have that extra acidity, so it is usually picked a little less ripe than you would otherwise pick the red grapes. The grapes do a short maceration on the skins, leeching out just a bit of the red color. They are then pressed and fermented into wine, much like you would do for white wine.

At L’Ecole No. 41 they use the maceration method. Alder Ridge Vineyard is about an hour and a half drive from the L’Ecole No. 41 Winery. The grapes are picked early, at about 21 or 22 brix (brix is a measurement of the amount of sugar in the grapes) by machine harvest. This allows the picking to be quick and done early in the morning when it is cool.

Those containers of stemless grapes go on a truck and head to the winery in Walla Walla. As they ride along, they are seeping out some of their juice, the bottom berries crushed under the weight of the berries on top, and they start macerating. When they get to the winery, they macerate for just a bit longer before they are pressed, keeping the wine cold with dry ice.

Sugar in Rosé?

No, this is not White Zin.

Talking about sugar. This wine came in with a pH of about 3.26. This would give about the acidity of a lime. That’s pretty tart, you would be puckering if they bottled it that way. To balance that acidity, a little residual sugar (4.5 g/L) is left in the wine.

How do they do that? Leaving the sugar in the wine? Well, while the grapes are fermenting, the yeast is eating up all of the sugar, so rather than letting the yeast eat all of the sugar, Marcus and Marty taste the wine along the way. They track the fermentation rate in the lab to see where it is just right to arrest the fermentation.

L'Ecole No. 41 Winemaker Marcus Rafanelli (photo courtesy L'Ecole No. 41)

“It ended up being on a Sunday morning, that we just got to this beautiful point in the wine…it was about 10:30 and we were like, “this is it!”.

They arrested the fermentation by adding sulfur. Sulfur is used often in winemaking, it has antioxidizing and antiseptic properties. So it keeps the wine safe to drink and keeps it from oxidizing and turning brown. With a light-colored wine, sulfur can bleach the wine, but the color will over a little time, come back. Since sulfur can bleach the color out, they did not want to use it multiple times, fearing that they would lose too much color. With this rosé, they only used the sulfur this one time.

So what to pair with this lovely Grenache Rosé?

Grenache Rosé pairs with so many things! Just don’t overpower it. Lamb, melon, and prosciutto, even a hamburger (just avoid blue cheese). The wine will give you notes of strawberry, pink florals, watermelon, a bit of pepper. The group of us had a wide range of pairings and ideas, from goat cheese and crostini to sausage or ham, Asian shrimp tacos, pierogi, halibut and grilled vegetables, shrimp saffron wraps,…

Michael put together the pairing for this wine. It was a lovely day and was still cool enough to get up to the rooftop deck for some time in the sun. Now of course we would roast. He picked up chicken, sushi, lobster cakes, and some cheese and we headed to the roof to enjoy some sun, the breeze, and the view.

What do you get in the glass?

The wine was refreshing and elegantly joyful. Allow me to wax poetic…close your eyes, picture yourself in a lounge chair, with a view of the ocean, all you can hear is the sound of the wave lapping on the shore, the sun is just right, not too hot, enough to warm your skin from the cool breeze blowing off the water. This is the wine you have in your glass. Just watch the subtle smile creep across your face.

Girl is sitting on sea beach with wineglass of Rose at sunset in summer vacation in resort.

Sadly it’s sold out, but….

As I said, sadly it is unlikely you will find a bottle of this wine. But they will make it again next year, it will be subtly different, as each year is, but it will be as delicious. So, ready yourself to order a bottle next spring, or join the wine club to guarantee yourself a bottle.

Until then, pick up a bottle of rosé or two from somewhere, ideally a small vineyard and winery, somewhere with a story, where you can hear how the grapes were grown, and give a toast to summer.

Heritage by L’Ecole

They have also just recently opened their new Wine Bar in Walla Walla.

Located at the beautiful Marcus Whitman Hotel in downtown Walla Walla, Heritage by L’Ecole is open for business! You can book a table online or call 509.676.3777 for a reservation. They are open daily from 11 am to 7 pm.

Heritage by L’Ecole

6 West Rose St. Ste. 103

Walla Walla, WA 99362

Heritage by L'Ecole, the new wine bar at the Marcus Whitman in downtown Walla Walla (photo courtesy L'Ecole No. 41)

Of course, you can always visit them at their tasting room at the winery at the historic Frenchtown School that you see pictured on their label. That is located at:

41 Lowden School Road, Lowden, WA 99360.

You can reach them through their website at Lecole.com https://www.lecole.com/

By email at [email protected] or by phone at 509.525.0940

More about the wines of Washington and L’Ecole No. 41

As always be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on all of our posts.

Robin Bell Renken I have always loved people’s stories. I spent a career in Theatre helping to tell stories, as a Stage Manager. Daily enabling artists to freely and safely tell stories through their art. Then I fell in love with wine. There are so many details, so many nuances, not just in the glass, but in the vineyard, the region and the people. As I met winemakers and vineyard owners and even the people in the tasting room excited to pour me a glass and tell me the story of this wine, I knew these were stories I wanted to share. I completed my study and became a Certified Specialist of Wine and continue learning daily as I meet and interview people in this industry.

Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.

Is a Rosé just a Rosé?

Jun 2, 2017

Rosé, it’s a pink wine. We talked about how you make it in Rosé Season – Rosé Basics. But there is so much more to it. Rosé is a color of wine, just like red wine and white wine. So what about the difference in the grapes that you use to make it and where you grow those grapes?

Rosé can be made from any red grape, and while the intensity of the flavor differs from red wine, as the juice does not spend as much time on the skins or “must”, different grape varieties do impart different flavors and of course the terroir (soil and climate) affects flavor also.

On a simple level a Grenache rosé will be typically bright and fruity, a Syrah rosé will be more savory and a Mourvedre rosé will be fruity and floral. Of course that is just dipping into the differences in Rhone variety rosés. Rosés are as diverse as the grapes, areas and winemakers who make them. Let’s delve a little deeper.

A Pinot Noir Rose from Presqu’ile Vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley of Santa Barbara County

Albero Spanish Rosé made from the Bobal grape from Southeast Spain.

An estate rosé from Larner Vineyard in Santa Barbara’s Ballard Canyon that is a GSM blend Rosé

Garnacha Rose from local communities in Spain. La Granja 360 is a supporter of Farm Sanctuary!

A rich deeply colored Rose of Syrah

A Rosé from Chile that is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot.

100% Syrah that does a 12 hour cold soak. From Paso Robles.

A Rosé is a wine made from red grapes where the skin does not stay in contact with the juice for very long, so it is "pink" or "rose" in color.

A Blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault in a Rosé from Tablas Creek in Paso Robles California

Rosé of Cinsault Grenache & Syrah from the Sourthern Rhone and the Perrin Family

100% Pinot Noir Sparkler made in the Methode Champenoise in New Mexico!

A blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah from Mont Ventoux in the Rhone Valley

A blend of 46% Merlot, 31% Cab Franc, 12% Pinot Noir and 11% Syrah makes up this Virginia Rosé.

Italian Rosé Vino Frizzante

This Malbec driven Rosé from Stone Tower Winery in Northern Virginia is made from grapes sourced from around the country including some from California.

A Grenache-Syrah Rosé from the Rhone Valley in France.

Bella Conchi Brut Rosé is a Cava from Spain.

One of a series of Rosés at a tasting

This Italian Rosé is made of 100% Negroamaro grapes from the Southern part (the heel) of Italy. It is golden in color

Vin Gris

Sometimes you will hear Rosé referred to as “Vin Gris”. This translate as “grey wine” which is not very sexy. The idea here is that you are using a red grape to make a white wine. In this case there is VERY little contact with the skins so that often the juice comes out clear. (this of Blanc de Noir Champagne, made with pinot noir, but without any pink tint). There is also “Gris de Gris” which is made only from the lighter colored red grapes Cinsault, Gamay & Grenache.

Off Dry Rosé

We mentioned before “white zinfandel” which gave rosé a bad name for a while. White Zin is an off dry style of rosé. Off dry indicates that there is residual sugar (rs). So when the wine is fermented, fermentation is stopped before the yeast has eaten off all of the sugar, so there are “residual sugars” left in the wine. This is where you get all sweet wines. You see this term “Off dry” often used in Champagnes or sparkling wines. If you enjoy a little sweetness in your wine, or have a pairing that calls for it, you can go with an “off dry” rosé, these include: blush wine, white merlot, white zinfandel, Rosé D’Anjou and Garnacha Rosado.

Rosé D’Anjou

This is an Off Dry Rosé from the Loire Valley made primarily from Grolleau. “Grolle” means “crow” in french and this grape is said to be named for it’s deep dark color. This wine has it’s own AOC, Rosé D’Anjou AOC in the Anjou district of the Loire Valley. Small percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Malbec and Pineau d”Aunis are allowed. Close by you will also find Cabernet D’Anjou & Cabernet de Saumur which are also slightly sweet rosés. These wines while slightly sweet have bright acids which makes them refreshing and have aromas of strawberry, gooseberry, white pepper and roses with mint.

Garnacha Rosado

Garnacha is the Spanish version of Grenache, a well known grape in France for Rosé. Of course it’s warmer in Spain than in France so the fruit tends to be a little riper and you often a deeper color in these wines. They are often a little sweet, but can also be found in a drier style.

Dry Rosé

Dry Rosés will not have that sweetness. In these wines all of the sugar has been eaten off by the yeast. These wines typically fall into two camps flavor wise: Fruit/Floral and Herbal/Savory

Fruit and/or Floral Rosé

These include: Tavel, Rosado, Sangiovese Rosé, Provençe Rosé, Grenache Rosé and Pinot Noir Rosé. Rosado is a Spanish Rose, Grenache, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir Rosés are pretty self explanatory.

Provençe Rosé

If there is one region more known for rosé than any other, it would be Provençe. They are serious about their rosé here. Half of the production in Provençe is Rosé. These rosés are typically Grenache and cinsault, but with a little mourvèdre and syrah.

Provençe conjures up visions of fields of lavender and sunflowers. Sitting on the Mediterranean coast, the area is sundrenched with warm days and cool evenings. The “Mistral” winds which top at over 90 kilometers an hour are certainly not a breeze, but are credited with making these wines so delicious, by keeping away cloud cover, keeping temperatures from shifting to hot or too cold and preventing grape rot.

The largest AOC in this region is the Côtes de Provençe. It produces 75% of the wine in the region of which a whopping 89% is Rosé.

For more on the wines of Provençe visit Provencewineusa.com

Tavel Rosé

Tavel Rosé was Hemingway’s wine of choice often drinking it exclusively on trips in France. This has been called “the thinking drinkers rosé”. The Rosés are darker and higher in alcohol (so little wonder that Hemingway liked it!). They must be between 11% and 13.5% alcohol and most typically bump up against that upper limit.

Tavel is a region in Rhone, that only makes Rosé. Grenache is the base for all Tavel wine. Grenache, Cinsault, Bourboulenc, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Picpoul and Clairette are the main grape varieties but no single variety can be more than 60% of a vineyard. Carignan and Calitor Noir may also be planted but cannot make up more than 10% of the planting.

This area is on the right-bank of the Rhone around the city of Tavel.

For more info on Tavel visit rhone-wines.com

Herbal or Savory Rosé

These include: Bandol Rosé, Cabernet Franc Rosé, Syrah Rosé, and Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé. Again, the varietal Rosés are self explanatory and we will delve more into the flavors in our next post. But lets talk a little about Bandol.

Bandol Rosé

Bandol is located on the southern coast of France. Here they grow Mourvèdre. This is within the larger region of Provençe, but is tucked on the coast between Maseille and Toulon. The warm climate is perfect for the late harvesting Mourvèdre. While other varieties are allowed Mourvèdre must account for 50% of the Rosé, although most producers use significantly more. In addition Grenache and Cinsault are also used with Syrah and Carignan limited to 10% each.

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg! Just searching store shelves the other day we found Rosés from Italy, France, Oregon, Chile, Spain and California and we just picked up one from Virginia on a recent trip. The changes in soil and climate and wine making styles make for an overwhelming variety of wines.

But now that we have a little of the lay of the land, stick with us as we get into the tasty stuff and start to explore the different aroma’s and flavors in Rosé and then delve into what to pair with them!

So stop back here at Crushed Grape Chronicles. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Wine with friends – A California tasting & pairing

May 21, 2015

After our trip to the Central Coast, my friend RuBen asked if we wanted to do a wine & cheese party with him at his house. Well of course! RuBen is the hostess with the mostest and has a beautiful backyard. He also knows wonderful people, who are always a joy to talk to. So….RuBen planned the decor, the people and the over-all menu and I planned the wines and pairings. I spent several days going through and picking wines from our cellar and then finding interesting facts about each and pairing ideas. Here’s what I settled on…

Carhartt Pinot Noir

Carhatt Vineyards Sangiovese

Tablas Creek Vermentino

Tobin James Fat Boy

Margerum Rose

Laetitia Brut Cuvee

We needed to start with something bubbly, so we pulled out a bottle of Laetitia Vineyard & Winery Brut Cuvee. The winery is in the Arroyo Grande AVA which is just south of San Luis Obispo. We had recently done an Interview on their beautiful property with Heather Muran of the SLO Wine Association. Starting with bubbles is always a great celebratory way to start any event and it’s a great palate cleanser. This wine is made in the Champenoise method and the winemaker says his favorite pairing with this is potato chips! So…that’s what we paired it with. It was fun to talk to people about this wine and have people share with me their knowledge of sparkling wines.

Tablas Creek 2014 Vermentino

Next we moved onto a white wine, but I didn’t want to do a typical Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Instead we did a Vermentino from Tablas Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles. This winery is known for their Rhone Varieties, and while Vermentino is a little out of the Rhone (although it is grown there under the name Rolle) it is a variety of grape that thrives in the soils and climates you find at Tablas Creek. It is bright and minerally and we put a jar of wet stones next to it for people to smell. It was amazing to see people dip their nose into the glass then into the jar and watch the look of realization and surprise come across their faces. People always think that tasting notes sound so snooty with the wild things sommeliers say they can smell in a wine. Having it right there and smelling it opened their noses to trying to smell other things in the wines! Vermentino pairs great with many things, but unlike so many other wines, it is great with green vegetables, so we paired this with a pesto.

Margerum 2014 Riviera Rosé

Onward now to a Rosé. Rosés are coming back into vogue and you find them popping up everywhere. While you can find rosés made from Pinot, Zinfandel, and even Merlot…I love a Rhone or Grenache Rosé best, with a little watermelon and strawberry on the nose, but dry. That is what we got with the Margerum Wine Company 2014 Riviera Rosé. This Rosé is Grenache with a little Counoise and Cinsault. The Grenache for the most part is done in the saignee method, then a bit of Counoise and Cinsault are added as well as a little barrel aged Grenache. As Rosés notoriously go well with anything pink, we paired it with a prosciutto.

Carhartt 2012 Pinot Noir

It was time now to go a little darker. We pulled out a 2012 Pinot Noir from Carhartt in Santa Barbara. The Carhartt’s are the same Carhartt’s you think of with work clothes. The family owned a ranch in Santa Barbara where they raised cattle for years. Mike Carhartt and his wife Brooke planted grapes on the land and now it is a family affair with son Chase studying wine making and assisting in the process. This particular wine is not grown on their estate but comes from Riverbench Vineyard up in the Santa Maria Valley where they grow some amazing Pinot Noir. We paired this with cheeses; goat cheese, gouda and baked brie!

Carhartt 2012 Sangiovese

We continued with a little more robust red with a Carhartt Sangiovese. This wine was estate grown and smells of cherry, fig, cola, all spice, sweet oak and rose petal. I had a fresh burrata from the Downtown Summerlin Farmers Market that paired perfectly with this!

Tobin James 2009 Fat Boy Zin

I must admit that we don’t drink alot of big reds these days. Most are just a bit too big to pair with a meal. At one time we were members of the Tobin James wine club and we have a bunch of great big fat Zins from them, that I have not yet opened. So…here was an opportunity to open one and see how it was. Did it mellow with age or would it have gone flat and passed it’s peak? We opened a 2009 Tobin James Fat Boy Zin. It is an over the top Zin that Tobin says is “like the best friend you had as a kid; big brash and maybe slightly obnoxious, but always loved!”. This is definitely big with the alcohol level sitting at 15.8%. But indeed, this big boy was loved by many at the party. We paired this with Smoked Gouda, but truly this big Jammy Zin would go best with bold bold BBQ.

Carol Shelton 2008 Black Magic

We ended the eveningstepping a little further north, with a late harvest Zin by Carol Shelton her 2008 Black Magic from Sonoma County. Late harvest wines are those that are left on the vine to let their sugars develop and often they will leave them to raisin on the vine concentrating the sugars even further. This dessert wine screams for chocolate and indeed we paired it with that, but also with a lovely Stilton. The sweet wine and the savory cheese are a perfect combination for finishing an evening.

This was an amazing evening with around 20 people just mingling talking about the wines and whatever else came up and meandering around RuBen’s beautiful backyard with little seating areas tucked here and there. We enjoyed the wine, the company and conversation as the sun set and the stars came out. Yep, wine with friends…what could be better?

Wine Party with Friends

Qupe, Verdad, Ethan & Bob Lindquist

May 28, 2013

We left ABC and hurried back to the car (it was a bit of a hike!) and headed on to Los Olivos to try to get to Qupe before the tasting room closed. We had driven from Santa Barbara to Los Olivos before taking the 101, but this time Google routed me on 154 past Lake Cachuma. It was a beautiful drive and saved us time!

We pulled into Los Olivos and Parked at the end of the street. Saarloos & Sons was closed for the day, but were obviously busy with an event on the back patio! We passed them and headed to Qupe apologizing for arriving so late! The tasting room here is cozy and welcoming. There are 3 logos on the windows: Qupe is Bob Lindquist’s label; Verdad belongs to his wife and Ethan to his son.

Qupe Verdad Ethan Tasting Room

Qupe (pronounced Kyoo-pay) is the Chumash Indian word for the California poppy. The Chumash Indians are native to the Central coast and Bob wanted to honor these people. Bob Lindquist moved to Southern California with his family in 1964 when he was just 11. He got into the wine industry in the mid 70’s starting with a harvest at Fortino Winery. From there he went to San Martin Winery to work in the tasting room and worked his way up to assistant manager. He ran the San Martin tasting room in Ventura County and started frequenting the wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley. Here he felt his calling. The story goes, that he worked in a wine shop in Los Olivos for the son of the co-owner of Zaca Mesa. From there he met Jim Clendenen who was the assistant winemaker at Zaca Mesa at the time. Here’s where rock-n-roll steps in…Bob got tickets to see the Kinks and got fired from the wine shop for attending the show (I’m assuming he skipped work for it). Jim Clendenen hooked Bob up with a job as Zaca Mesa’s first tour guide. Without many tourists to guide, Bob spent most of his time in the cellar learning from Jim how to make wine. In 1983 he left Zaca Mesa to work full time on his own label Qupe. Bob & Jim share a winemaking facility to this day out at Bien Nacido. Verdad is the label Bob partnered with his wife, Louisa Sawyer Lindquist to specialize in Spanish varieties. Verdad makes a Grenache based Rose, as well as Albarino and Tempranillo. Total production is about 2000 cases. Ethan is the small label of one of his older sons (Ethan!). This label is small and produces Grenache, Sangiovese, Grenache Blanc and Syrah.

Qupe Wine Glass

So on to the tasting!

Verdad 2011 Grenache Rose Sawyer Lindquist. This wine was harvested in two lots. Lot one was then de-stemmed and sat overnight to absorb color. Lot 2 was whole cluster pressed. This was stainless steel fermented with a long cool fermentation using native yeasts. You get ripe strawberry and rose on the nose and then watermelon and strawberry on the palate with a little herbal quality. Really nice, and we took a bottle of this with us!

Verdad 2011 Albarino Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in the Edna Valley Acid, minerality. Done in stainless and whole cluster pressed. Only 100 cases produced. So different from everything else we had tasted that day. This was the first stainless white of the day.

2009 Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Reserve – Block 11 This wine is aged 18 months in French oak with 60% of that in new Francois Frères barrels. This wine is clean on the palate. While you get lots of oak on the nose, it is not over oaked and still has a bright acidity. This is a really nice Chard. This wine is grown on a steep north-facing hillside, which softens the sun exposure.

2008 Ethan Grenache, Edna Valley. This wine would pair perfectly with pork. It is a lighter red so good for warm weather drinking but with enough intensity of flavor to stand up to pulled or roasted pork.

2009 Qupe Syrah Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard. This is a spicy peppery cool climate Syrah. It is complex and well balanced with a depth of pepper on the nose.

This tiny little tasting room has some gems to taste and…if I get a hankerin’ for a Qupe wine…he has a high distribution Chardonnay that I can get right down the street at Fresh & Easy! To bad they don’t carry that amazing Verdad Grenache Rose!

Europa Village, at Temecula CA

Mar 5, 2013

Europa Village winery endeavors to take you on a quick trip to Europe to enjoy the wines of France, Italy and Spain. The gardens here are lovely and they have added a covered patio for large groups. They have a tasting room set up in a French café style plus a room set up like a cave for events. The wines are under 3 separate labels C’est la Vie Chateau for the French wines including Syrah, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier and Savignon Blanc as well as En Vie which is a Rhone Blend of Grenache, Syrah, Counoise, Cinsault and Mourvedre. Bolero Cellars has the Spanish wines including a Muscat Canelli and Albarino and the Libido which is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Tempranillo. Lastly Vienza brings you the Italian varieties which include Sangiovese, Pinot Grigio, a Grenache Rose, Barbera, Primitivo and the Tuscan style blend Primazia which is Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Europa Village Patio

Cave Music Event

There are no shortage of events here at the winery with Music on Friday nights, dinner plays, art events where you can learn to paint while sipping away, culinary classes with the chef from The Inn at Europa Village and wine pairing dinners. We stopped in to see “Lady Truth” play the last time we were in Temecula. Due to the cold weather everything was set up in the cave and they had wine by the glass or bottle plus there was a tent outside with a Panini vendor that you could order from. When it is warmer I am sure that the patio makes for a stunning venue!

Europa Village Inn

The Inn boasts 10 stunning rooms named after their wines, with most rooms enjoying a view of the winery below as well as a two-course gourmet breakfast each morning. The Inn’s patio includes a fire pit and an eight person Jacuzzi. You can wake up in the morning to watch the balloon tours float overhead, or get up a little extra early and take one of the Balloon rides yourself as they depart from the winery each morning.

This is a great place for a romantic getaway. Watch for Video Blog Entry coming Soon!

Grenache Rose

Rosé season is here, but don’t take that rosé for granted!

L’Ecole No. 41 Grenache Rosé

Alder Ridge Vineyard

Horse Heaven Hills

Alder Ridge Grenache, why it makes such good Rosé

About making rosé

Sugar in Rosé?

No, this is not White Zin.

So what to pair with this lovely Grenache Rosé?

What do you get in the glass?

Sadly it’s sold out, but….

Heritage by L’Ecole

More about the wines of Washington and L’Ecole No. 41

Share this:

Like this:

Is a Rosé just a Rosé?

Vin Gris

Off Dry Rosé

Rosé D’Anjou

Garnacha Rosado

Dry Rosé

Fruit and/or Floral Rosé

Provençe Rosé

Tavel Rosé

Herbal or Savory Rosé

Bandol Rosé

Share this:

Like this:

Wine with friends – A California tasting & pairing

Laetitia Brut Cuvee

Tablas Creek 2014 Vermentino

Margerum 2014 Riviera Rosé

Carhartt 2012 Pinot Noir

Carhartt 2012 Sangiovese

Tobin James 2009 Fat Boy Zin

Carol Shelton 2008 Black Magic

Share this:

Like this:

Qupe, Verdad, Ethan & Bob Lindquist

Share this:

Like this:

Europa Village, at Temecula CA

Share this:

Like this:

Join our Crushed Grape Chronicles Family

Join our Email List

Archives

Categories

Follow Us on Twitter

Certified Specialist of Wine

Join us on Facebook

Instagram

crushedgrapechron

crushedgrapechron