Darn good wines !

Darn good wines... well actually mostly ok rather than darn good.  This needs to be said with an American twang for full effect.

This month 10 of us met at Mark and Linda's to try some summer Rose Wines, shame the sun didn't think about showing its head all day :(

Rose wines (sorry can't get the little thingy over the 'e') are really suited to a relaxing afternoon in the garden in the summer or somewhere hot and sunny abroad, however, we opted for the dining room with plenty of delicious food for our tastings.

I hate to generalise (something I never do, ha ha) but really they were mostly all ok, in that general kind of way, Karen M wanted to use the word 'bland' but too harsh made her come up with another, after a number of no, not that word, no not that word either, we settled on inoffensive (seemed fair).

Rose Wines

 

To answer Micks question, how is this wine made pink, here is the answer from waitrose, which I am sure is correct rather than ramblings from all of us on the evening...and the Darn good American found on YouTube. Micks comment after hearing the Americans explanation was that Mick himself was a darn good chap (even if he says so himself) !

 

Rosé is generally made from black-skinned grapes. The main difference between rosé and red wine is the length of time the grape juice stays in contact with the skins, known as maceration. The grapes are crushed and destemmed, then left to macerate before pressing. The rest of the wine-making process is as for white wines.

The maceration time is influenced by the style of the wine but also by the grape variety. For varieties such as Grenache, it usually lasts 8-12 hours. For varieties with more deeply pigmented skins, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, the maceration time is usually shorter.

It is also possible to make very basic rosé table wine by blending a small amount of red wine with white wine. However, the only quality wine that can be made in this way, according to wine regulations within Europe, is rosé champagne. Even so, many champagne producers prefer to use the maceration technique rather then blending.

Styles of rosé

Styles of rosé wine are as varied as their range of colours, from refreshing medium-dry Loire rosé, to bone dry, powerful wines such as Tavel from the Rhône, to sweeter blush wines such as White Zinfandel, typically from California

Our wines:

 

What they had going for them was their delicate salmon colour none of the deep harsh pinks you sometimes get.  Most were dry (thank goodness).

The older 2009 Pinot Noir had a weird slightly musty smell, some thought toasty or toasty nuts (behave !) although still maintained a clean fresh taste.

The winner by far was the 2012 Sancerre at £9.99 french 12.5% bought at Tesco, this bottle emptied quicker than all the others, thank the Stones for bringing this along.

Sancerre

Now I am just reading my scribbled notes, that don't always make a huge amount of sense anyway, especially as the evening goes on but who knows what this is about, Terrys comment was "don't put anything in your mouth unless you know what it is " .... anyone throw any light on that little gem??? (sensible/non rude answers only please)

Sorry its a brief Blog this month but up to my eyes in work, saying that you may be very pleased its short this time.

Anyway time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x