While National Rose Day is the second Saturday of the month of June, National Pink Day is June 23.  It’s also Pink Flamingo Day!

 

Seriously though, National Pink Day is a day set aside to celebrate all things pink:

to wear pink, to enjoy foods and beverages that are pink, and to give a donation to any of the charities that use the color pink. Use #NationalPinkDay in social media. You even listen to “Pretty in Pink”!

In particular, the color pink and the pink ribbon is associated with breast cancer; when you wear pink today, who do you wear it for? Who are you remembering or honoring?

As Wine Predators, we should toast those who have battled breast cancer too.

With ROSE of course!

But which one?

How about one made by women? One that’s estate grown and sustainably farmed?

On Tuesday, during #WineStudio, Sue and I tasted:

Pedroncelli – Dry Rose of Zinfandel – 2015 – 13.9% alcohol – $12.00 SRP – Whole Foods $10.99 about 2000 cases produced annually

We had a sample bottle of this wine that tasted off and metallic when I opened it previous to Tuesday’s #WineStudio so I searched at Vons, Trader Joes and Bevmo for another bottle to do the twitter tasting. Fortunately Sue found it at Whole Foods for $1 cheaper than the suggested retail price; we imagine you can find this on sale for under $10. The replacement bottle was much better, and also fortunately, the final glass was fine the following evening when I paired it with a peanut sauce tofu and veggie stirfry.

Four generations call a corner of Dr Creek Valley home, tending vineyards, and making wines from local and estate grapes. The Pedoncelli family has been producing Zinfandel based Rose since the mid 50’s; today it is made by the granddaughters whose grandparents came from Italy, met in California, and had three kids by the time  they bought the property.

 “We had estate Zinfandel, my grandfather wanted a light red wine, kismet!”

Today they make 16 different wines sourced from estate and neighbor’s vineyards. Every grape is picked within twelve miles of the Dry Creek Valley winery.

This third generation of Pedroncelli women say that as farmer/winemakers taking care of the land is part of their DNA but they have brought to the table more sustainable practices like cover crops and solar energy and to make decisions that have a positive impact on the environment. They are in the process of getting certification.

The grapes for this rose of zinfandel were harvested in the third week of August 2015  from 40-65 year old vines that have been allowed to develop generous fruit flavors.  Because of the drought, the crop was 25% less of normal with more concentration and softer acidity.

Made by combining free run juice from early picked grapes 60% of the blend and 40% saignee juice drawn from fermenting tank of fully ripened Zinfandel. Percentage is changed from vintage to vintage depending on the winemaker’s choice. Fermentation finished in temp controlled stainless steel tanks.

 

Not a first choice for a cocktail wine, this wine shines with food which brings out what works well in the wine: citrus and minerality for crabcakes and fish and chips. Smokey creamy flavors bring out the wines flavor profile. The rich but simple carbonara with peas and lots of pancetta was also a great pair, especially using the Monogram Felicetti organic farro linguine made from a spelt wheat. I loved it with brie en trout with apricot jam and raspberries as an appetizer and it also went well with proscuitto.

Color -Bright and rich in color. Kind of blush, kind of pinky; glows beautifully in the light. Bubblegum?

Nose – minerals, and citrus, not as much fruit or floral that is what you think of when you think of a Rose. Kind of smells like a Sauv. Blanc. Mostly cranberry with some strawberry.

Palette – front of the palette is fine, on the back of the palette there is a metalic finish, falls flat. Fresh and dry. Not sweet and fruity.

Pair  – smoked cheese, smoked meat. when paring with the crabcakes, the sweetness of the crab played well with the citrus notes in the wine. Nice wine by the glass if you were enjoying a seafood appetizer. Someone else recommended watermelon salad. Others on wine chat found that sweetness was absent when paired with pizza, It then showcased a hint of tart cranberry.

The beauty of rose is that there is lots of diversity of grape varieties and techniques, which gives many different flavor profiles.

Just like PINK!

Need more rose? Looking for more ways to pair food with rose? Read about these five from around the world, plus lots of food ideas, and join us for the final week of #WineStudio’s Sonoma Rose Revolution. 

Also Tues, June 28 at 6:30pm, the Santa Barbarba Vintners celebrate Santa Barbara County rosé at Sama Sama Kitchen’s beautiful outdoor back courtyard with a casual dinner featuring five paired wine and food stations. Sama Sama Kitchen is located at 1208 State Street, Santa Barbara and tickets are $65 per person, inclusive of tax and gratuity.

To get in the mood for Santa Barbara County Rose,  I’m off to the Ventura Wine Company located in the Cave in Ventura on Telephone at Market to pick up either: 2015 Funk Zone Rosé (74% Grenache, 26% Syrah) Santa Barbara County or 2015 Summer Water Rosé, Santa Barbara County which is lighter, more floral and strawberry, and with more minerality. Both are around $15 each.

I might also swing by Paradise Pantry in downtown Ventura where Larry Schaeffer  of Tercero is pouring his sold out rose of Mourvedre!

Finally, because it is the 30th anniversary this year of the 80s classic film, Pretty in Pink, to close this post, here’s the trailer. I think I may just have to watch it tonight while drinking some rose!