Introduction
This week on Salon Saturday we take a look at Rose wines because they are good any time of year. Not to mention the vibrant colors make it a Valentine’s Day treat as well. Then we look at the top ten movies of all time. Well someone’s list, but not mine. This is always a good topic for discussion. Finally we will cover a Saturday night on the town. After all this is Salon Saturday! However, since I’ve added many comments about film I’m putting it into a separate blog.
Is it time for Rosé wine yet?
While we are in the dead of winter that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a nice bright Rosé. In fact it can make the season a lot brighter so I’m covering the basics on this wonderful choice between white and red. We’ll go into more detail of pairing Rose with Valentine’s Day treats in a future show.
The French love Rosé wines; they make a ton of them, they export a boatload, but they consume even more than go out the door. Besides the wide range of styles there, we have Rosato in Italy and Rosado in Spain. In the US there are many styles available from lighter, crisper versions to sweeter, fuller styles. This includes so-called blush styles that are generally sweeter, such as white Zinfandel. However the trend most decidedly is drier, crisper styles which enhance their food-friendly characteristics.
Rosé Styles
Many of the lighter pink and crisper Rosé wines, such as classic Provence are more in demand, and winemakers in other countries and regions have taken note. The popularity of Provence-style Rosé is constant, and influences the Languedoc and Rhône subregions of France as well.
However, while it’s the predominant style there are other Rosé wines that produce richer, darker-colored wines that extend food-pairing into typical red wine territory. Longer extraction of the skins pulls in more polyphenols and red wine accents for a deeper, richer Rosé. On a hot summer day this style has less refreshment and lift but in the depths of winter it’s a good alternative.
Color and bottle design
One of the benefits of Rosé wines is that what you see is what you get. The color ranges from gris or grey, to deep red wines from Tavel and Rioja Rosado. Adding to the variety of colors is the myriad of bottle shapes. Rose is in everything from squat to hourglass to exceedingly tall. Not to mention the Mateus flask and Lancer’s crock. Clearly some manufacturers don’t care if their bottle fits in your wine cellar, let alone a mini-fridge.
Perceptions of Rosé wines have changed over time so that most wine drinkers expect a drier, lighter style, which is partly driven by the millennials and our changing tastes in wine.
Rosé Wine Basics
Rosé wines are made from red wine grapes, using one of four processes.
- Saignée or bleeding method: Free run juice, around 10%, bled off for Rosé and permits two wines to be made; Rosé and a richer, more intense red wine.
- Free-run juice comes from un-pressed grapes, which can be:
- Blended back into the wine
- Sold as a free run juice wine, which has lower tannin, potassium
- Sold as Saignée Rosé, which has intense, dark colors and permits the juice to run for 2 hours to 2 days before pressing and fermented separately
- Because the primary wine is red, grapes are harvested later than typical Rosé wines, which blunts its acidic backbone.
- Maceration, similar to conventional red wine, but juice taken off skins after 3 – 24 hours
- The grapes are harvested earlier than for red wine to preserve acidity and red fruit flavors and brighter notes
- Vin Gris: Grey wine, a lighter skin grape like Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio is chosen. The color is pale, but not normally grey. There is also no maceration time as is typical of saignee method.
- Blending red and white wines to create Rosé, rare, but typical of some Champagne Rosé wines
Martin’s Rake 2020 Rosé, Marlborough 12.5 ABV, $12-$14
I’ve become a fan of this Pinot Noir-based New Zealand Rosé, which is available at Smith’s food stores. On the label: delicate blossom aromas are accompanied by a zesty splash of citrus, leading to a bright, crisp finish. I also get pink grapefruit notes and a bit of watermelon. This will pair with several foods, or is fine just by itself. A best buy.
Music in Corrales; an enduring legacy
From the website: The all-volunteer Corrales Cultural Arts Council (CCAC) created the Music in Corrales series in 1986 as a musical offering to the Corrales community. The series was conceived as a way of preserving New Mexico’s vast musical and cultural heritage, and a way to create a new one as well. What was started by a few dedicated persons who recognized the importance of music to people’s lives, has grown to an organization that brings exceptional musicians to the Historic Old San Ysidro Church where the audience is no longer just neighbors. Local residents and guests from the middle Rio Grande Valley share the evening with visitors from other states and further abroad. www.musicincorrales.org
I have gone to several performances over the years and always been impressed with the talent they can bring in. The president, Lance Ozier has been doing a stellar job there. Another good friend, Jim Wright is president of the Corrales Arts Center and past president of the Corrales Cultural Arts Council. We are fortunate to have two such dynamic men in our village.
“One of the other questions for us, coming out of the pandemic, was just how ready were people to come back to live concerts as we did a number of concerts during the pandemic online,” Lance said recently.
I also appreciate their support of music in schools. Many of their famous artists have done workshops for aspiring young musicians. When world famous violinist, Midori performed here she generously did a workshop for young violinists, and countless other artists have also volunteered their time.
Saturday evening, January 21: Tubist & Pianist:
Richard Antoine White is principal tubist of the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic. Pamela Viktoria Pyle is an award-winning piano soloist and chamber recitalist. Both are professors of music at the University of New Mexico. If you’ve never heard a tuba and horn recital – I sure hadn’t – this was the place to check out. From Bach to English composer, Vaughan Williams they proved that a soft solo on tuba with piano accompaniment can actually work.
We were doing dinner and a show Saturday, and even though the concert was sold out we put our names on the waiting list and all four of us managed to get in. We segued to Casa Vieja in Corrales for drinks while we waited for the performance to begin.
Casa Vieja is a storied building that has seen many restaurants over the years in an historic building heavy on charm. Now it’s a performance destination with a full bar for wine and cocktails. I had a whiskey flight of Colkegan single malt, apple brandy cask finished and cask strength single malt whiskeys that I didn’t get a chance to finish before we headed for the Old San Ysidro Church performance. The cask strength whiskey was 118 % so I couldn’t just chugalug it; much as I wanted to.
Santa Fe Spirits was founded by Colin Keegan in 2010 with the goal of becoming the Southwest’s preeminent artisan distillery. With products ranging from American Single Malt Whiskeys to barrel-aged apple brandy to a whiskey liqueur that’s unlike anything else in the market, Santa Fe Spirits proudly produces exceptional spirits designed to capture and accentuate the essence of the Southwest.
They do tastings at the distillery and a very cool downtown tasting room in the Railyard District. I’ve been a fan of Colin since he first opened his distillery and we’ve covered him on our Spirits of New Mexico radio show. Now that I know many of his products are at Casa Vieja, I’ll be back.
Finally, our earlier dinner had to be quick in, quick out so we could be on time to put our names on the waiting list. That was Storming Crab on Coors; which is part of a chain of restaurants before the Coors Bypass merge. The chain currently has 19 nationwide. My shrimp were really big and delicious and I couldn’t stop eating the fries. Our good friend David decided to be adventuress and tackled a Dungeness crab which our waitress kindly explained how to eat.
Since the wine list was lacking in every way I went with Heineken to wash it all down. That is one fault I have with the place, but the food was very good and service was fine and friendly. You might get a slightly different take after reading Gil’s Thrilling (and filling) blog, which I highly recommend.
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