Today's Sponsor:
 California Wine Club
International Series - New Zealand!
www.cawineclub.com

In This Issue
 Where pink meets red The range of color and flavor intensity in pink wines may help you find a rosé that suits you.
 Selby 2003 Sonoma County Rosé of Syrah ($9.99) Ripe, full and red, this peppery, prickly treat may be a red-wine lover's rosé.
 California Wine Club International Series - New Zealand!
 This week on WineLoversPage.com Our man Bucko's monthly report focuses on Washington State, and we talk about the calories in a bottle of wine.
Last Week's Wine Advisor Index The Wine Advisor archives.
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Where pink meets red

As I noted earlier this month, I have a bit of an attitude problem when it comes to rosé wines, and generally pass them by in favor of something more demonstrably red. Or, for that matter, something that's just-plain white.

But I'm giving it the old college try, especially this month while we're studying pink wines in Wine Tasting 101. After all, thousands of serious rosé-fanciers can't all be wrong, and there's certainly something tempting about a fresh, crisp and downright pretty pink wine on a balmy spring or summer day.

What's more, it's a mistake to generalize about pink wines as if they were all alike.

First, true rosé wines are distinguished from "blush" wines by their relative dryness and tart acidic structure. But perhaps even more significant, there's considerable diversity even within the rosé category. Rosé wines may vary from off-dry to bone-dry, totally sugar-free; from feather-light to full-bodied; from soft, low-level acidity to piercing steeliness; from simple fruit to complex swirls of fruit, herbs and minerals; and, not least, depending on how the wine maker has handled the "blanc de noirs" process of extracting light-colored wine from dark-colored grapes, rosé wines may range from the palest pink through rose, salmon and copper to a rich claret color that's all but indistinguishable from red wine.

Today's tasting, a California pink wine made from Syrah grapes by Selby, a small but well-regarded producer, falls close to the red end of the rosé spectrum. It's rather full-bodied, minerally and complex, with aroma, flavor and even color that make it a red-wine lover's rosé, so much so that I find I prefer it at cool cellar temperature rather than with the complexity-muting chill that's more commonplace for serving less, well, colorful pink wines.

MORE ABOUT SELBY:
For another Wine Advisor article about a tasting of Selby wines and the wine maker, Suzie Selby, see the June 18, 2004 edition, "Introducing Selby,"
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa040618.phtml

PRINT OUT TODAY'S ARTICLE
Here's a simply formatted copy of today's Wine Advisor, designed to be printed out for your scrapbook or file or downloaded to your PDA or other wireless device.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/print050523.html

TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE
If you'd like to ask a question or comment on today's topic (or any other wine-related subject), you'll find a round-table online discussion in our interactive Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, where you're always welcome to join in the conversations about wine.
http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=1&tid=61684&mid=528603

If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.


Selby Selby 2003 Sonoma County Rosé of Syrah ($9.99)

This is a clear, cherry-red wine, quite dark for a rosé: I've seen plenty of Pinot Noir with a lighter hue. Ripe, fresh strawberry aromas add an intriguing note of earthy minerality. Clean, crisp and bone-dry on the palate, cherry-berry fruit and a dash of white pepper are framed by appropriately tart acidity, with red cherries and a hint of prickly "petillance," the barest hint of carbonation, adding a slight tickle in the finish. More complex than your average pink wine, and a lot more "guts." Better at cool cellar temperature than ice-cold, so its complex and earthy character will show. (May 22, 2005)

FOOD MATCH: Well suited as an aperitif or with picnic fare; it went nicely with simple Southern fare with an Italian twist: Rich, bacon-laced cornbread with rapini sauteed with garlic in place of the traditional greens.

VALUE: This is a fine value at the $10 point through the lower teens (the winery sells it for $12).

WHEN TO DRINK: There's no point in cellaring rosé, which is at its best when its aromas and flavors are young and fresh. Finish up your 2003s this year and then look for newer bottles.

WEB LINK
Technical information about the 2003 Rosé of Syrah is available on the Selby Website:
http://www.selbywinery.com/2003SelbyRoseofSyrah.html

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Search the Wine-Searcher.com databases for Selby rosé:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Selby%2brose/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP


California Wine Club
California Wine Club:
International Series - New Zealand!

The California Wine Club's International Series is thrilled to bring you their newest arrival from New Zealand! The Soljans Estate Winery is featured this month with two luscious selections. Try a 2003 "North Island" Merlot/Cab/Malbec: This red blend is chock-full of cherries, cedar and vanillin notes. The "signature" wine of this small country, achieving huge success in the glass, is evident in the 2004 "Marlborough" Sauvignon Blanc where floral aromas lead to riotous tropical fruit flavors.

Join now ... call 1-800-777-4443 in the U.S., or visit online,
http://www.cawineclub.com?Partner_ID=winelovers


This week on WineLoversPage.com

Here are links to some of our recently published articles that I think you'll enjoy:

Bucko's Wine Reports: Late Spring 2005 releases
Taste Washington recently presented its three-day program of food, wine and wine education in Seattle, and our man Bucko was there, sampling as many wines as he could, and remaining convinced that Washington State is at its best with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Rhone varieties. "The best of these wines rival or exceed anything available in the New World," he says, presenting his monthly report on 100 new and current releases, including plenty of goodies from the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/bucko/bucko0505.phtml

Wine Lovers' Discussion Group: How many calories in a bottle of wine?
A dieter asks a simple question and gets back a variety of responses, from simple approximations to algebra and science.
http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=1&tid=61569&mid=527565


Last Week's Wine Advisor Index

The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Last week, however, we went on a vacation schedule because of my travels, skipping the usual Wednesday Wine Advisor and Thursday FoodLetter. Here's the index to last week's columns:

 Can Zin be tamed? (May 20, 2004)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa050520.phtml

 Flying corkscrews (May 18, 2004)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa050518.phtml

 Supreme Court rules on wine shipping (May 16, 2004)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa050516.phtml

 Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/thelist.shtml

 Wine Advisor FoodLetter: Salade Lyonnaise (May 19, 2004)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tsfl050519.phtml

 Wine Advisor Foodletter archive:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/foodlist.phtml


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Monday, May 23, 2005
Copyright 2005 by Robin Garr. All rights reserved.

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