Rosé Wine

April 9, 2017 7

Diary of a Master of Wine in Provence
Côtes de Provence, Prowein, and Coteaux Varois

One region, one new vintage, two countries, three colours, three appellations, three departments, four fairs… Round one of my official tasting season is over, and now is time for a brief retrospective pause to think about them and the rosés tasted. Concentrating on research for my rosé book means that I often didn’t have time to taste all the reds and whites I want to – that is something to look forward to this autumn.

The one region is Provence with three of the four tasting events being for Côtes de Provence, Coteaux Varois and Coteaux d’Aix who together make up 95% of the region’s production, and held, respectively in the departments of Alpes Maritimes, Var and Bouches du Rhône. The fourth event at Prowein, in Germany, was for the three regions together. The two countries were France and Germany.

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April 7, 2017 5

E & J Gallo Quietly Launches Provence Rosé, Fleur de Mer, into the U.S. Market

Knowing that Americans are thirsty for Provence rosé, E & J Gallo has hooked up with Les Maïtres Vignerons de la Presqu’île de Saint-Tropez in Provence to make a rosé for the U.S. market. After introducing two rosés, both produced by Les Maïtres Vignerons, to several test markets in key U.S. areas (e.g., Los Angeles, Florida, and New England), Gallo selected

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April 7, 2017 17

Musings of a Wine Maven
Lord Save Us, Martha Stewart is Selling Wine Again

Never a quitter, Martha has shaken off the debacle of her failed venture with Gallo a decade ago to come back at the unsuspecting wine consumer with a new wine marketing scheme. Unable then to successfully sell her Martha Stewart Vintage label at fifteen bucks a bottle, her name is now attached to a box of six of her favorite selections for $59.99, served up in a wine club framework. Hmmm, if a fifteen buck wine made for her by Gallo couldn’t sell, why then these ten buck finds (introductory price) from California, Spain, Italy and France?

There are at least two rosés from Provence, the region that has taken the U.S. by storm with its immensely popular pink wine

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Photo of food pairing with Rose de Leoube

April 1, 2017 13

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
I’m No Fool!

When I saw a bottle of Château Léoube's "Rosé de Léoube" on sale, I bought it. I'm no fool. Yes, it's a little more expensive than our usual wine purchases, but I have heard from many people how good it is, and I wanted to know firsthand. Let me start by saying that I wish I had bought out their inventory! (So maybe I was a fool after all...?)

The first thing I did after getting the bottle was send a quick note to my Instagram friend Jérôme Pernot - a.k.a. Mr. Léoube - and asked him what he recommended serving with his wine. His suggestion? Roasted chicken

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March 22, 2017 10

CHÂTEAU PEYRASSOL: THE MARC OF SUCCESS

We had a blizzard last this week. Winds were whipping across our house and, at times, it seemed through our early 18th-century home. The day-long storm dumped about a foot of snow by the time it was all over. Temperatures were way below freezing

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March 12, 2017 3

A Third Namesake Wine Joins the Château Margüi Portfolio: Welcome Toscane de Margüi

In early February, at Millesime Bio in Marseille, I had the pleasure of meeting Titien, 14-year-old son of Philippe Guillanton and Marie-Christine Baylet-Guillanton, who, with a little cajoling [...]

March 12, 2017 8

MILLÉSIME BIO 2017: CONVERSATIONS WITH ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC WINEMAKERS

“We don’t have fancy booths. We are natural. Authentic, like our wines,” observed one of the exhibitors at last month’s Millésime Bio Wine Fair in

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Duck Confit Cake and Domaine Moulin-la-Viguerie Tavel Wine

March 3, 2017 12

Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food
A Well-Traveled Tavel

It isn't often that I get wines straight off the plane from the vineyard in France. But, this week, that is exactly (well, sort of) what happened. You see, Sandra Gay-Moulines, attaché de communication for the Syndicat Viticole de l'Appellation Tavel, got a couple of bottles direct from the winery, whose owner, Gaël Petit, happens to be president of the Syndicat. Sandra gave them to Susan and Towny, who brought them back to States, and then they shipped them to me. See? Direct from the winery!

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March 2, 2017 5

Decanter’s Man of the Year 2017 Steven Spurrier once owned a Vacqueyras Estate

Steven Spurrier, British bon vivant extraordinaire, was just named Decanter Man of the Year 2017. As handsome as he is smart, Spurrier has worn so many hats in the wine world [...]

February 18, 2017 6

Musings of a Wine Maven
Something Corked about Wine Spectators’s Best Value 2016 Wines from Provence

Earlier this month I spent a considerable amount of time perusing the new issue of Wine Spectator (Jan. 31 – Feb. 28, 2017). I love lists, and this edition's cover caught my attention with its bold text proclaiming “Ultimate Values: 1,236 Wines 90+/ $30 or Less.” I was in the local bagel shop at the time and errands begged to be done which limited my taking the time then to go through their winners from beginning to end. But what did draw me in immediately was that of the eleven wines from Provence that made the cut, six were rosés.

I enjoy rosé well enough, but I imagined had it been me blind-tasting the presumed several hundred Provence wines tried during the [...]

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