Over The Barrel...

with Lenn Thompson

Ready for Roséé

Hopefully by now you know sugary California white zinfandel is the only game in town when it comes to roséé wines. Dry, fresh rose—like many recently released local ones—are like spring in a bottle. They are as pretty as the season’s first flowers and as refreshing as moment the sun warms your body.

Roséé can also be a revelation with your lunch or on your dinner table because of its extreme versatility. It combines the complexity and structure of red wine with the refreshing, thirst quenching qualities of whites.

Did you just buy some fresh fish from our local waters? Roséé will complement it well. Serving smoky-sweet barbequed chicken and burgers? It works there too. You can even serve roséé with a steak. Seriously.

And, it is a terrific alternative to white wine for your friends who only drink red wines.

Christopher Tracy, a trained chef and the winemaker at Channing Daughters Winery loves how versatile and flexible rose is, saying “No other wine style, red or white, offers so many options at the table. The old adage is ‘roséé pairs well with seafood to steak.’ The thing is it’s true. It’s not only comfortable with a variety of foods, but dry roséé is happy on a checkered picnic table or a four star white table cloth. We love that roséé can be casual and serious at the same time. We drink everything with roséé, the foods just change with the seasons. Favorites include, the raw bar, spring vegetable frittatas, tomatoes and mozzarella, charcuterie, almost anything off the grill, cheese, stuffed squash blossoms and roasted turkey and chickens. We also love dry roséé because it is easy, delicious, beautiful to look at and just plain fun.”

This time of year, many local producers are just starting to release new rose vintages. A handful already have, and if they are representative of what others will release soon, 2006 is a strong year for those who like to drink pink.

It’s nearly impossible to discuss Long Island rose without mentioning Channing Daughters’ “Tre Rosati” program, which includes three vineyard- and varietal-designated bottlings.

Channing Daughters Winery 2006 Rosato di Cabernet Franc — Croteau Vineyard ($17) is the lightest of the trio as well as the crispest. Fresh raspberry and strawberry flavors are accented by minerals and a faint minty, herb note. This is my preferred style of rose when I just want something fresh and clean as an aperitif, but it would also play well with local shellfish.

Their 2006 Rosati di Merlot — McCall Vineyard ($17) is fuller bodied and bolder. Its flavors are fuller as well with red cherries, ripe strawberries and surprising spiciness. It is slightly plush in the mouth with an almost-creamy mid-palate that finishes juicy and fresh. This might be the most versatile of the lot—serve it with most anything from the grill, sea or garden.

Last in the trio is the 2006 Rosati di Cabernet Sauvignon — Mudd Vineyard ($17) the biggest of the three—big to the point that one could almost mistake it for a light red wine. Full bodied and little jammy—strawberry and raspberry jams that is—this is a rose that I’d try with lamb or, yes, even steak. There is a subtle earthiness that is interesting as well.

Roman Roth, winemaker at Wolffer Estate, has recently released his 2006 Rose ($15). I found the 2005 bottling a little too fruity and full for my personal tastes, but this 2006 returns to the super-crisp style of the 2003. Pale salmon-orange it offers peach, citrus, cherry and mineral flavors that make it perfect for shellfish and other fish.

Roth also makes a rose for Roanoke Vineyards, and the 2006 will be released in the next week or two. Tasted right after bottling, it was showing great peach and citrus character.

My favorite, so far, of the 2006 rose crop is brought to us by Corey Creek Vineyards. The 2006 Domaine CC Rose ($14) offers loads of cherry, peach and cherry blossom along with terrific, perfectly balanced acidity.