Yes way, Rosé: How the category exploded!

Rosé didn't just explode on the scene in the United States overnight. It took a while. As in, it took a while for us to understand that not every Rosé is White Zinfandel, Mateus, or Lancers. For the longest time we saw pink wine and thought it was sweet sugar wine because of the popularity of what was on the shelves and lack of exposure to other pink wines. And what is probably the #1 thing that I hear the most every single day from customers? "I don't like sweet."

So here's the deal. If it says "Blush" then chances are you've got a sweet, sugary pink wine. Something crazy like 98% of bottles labelled "Rosé" made in the world are technically dry. Tavel in Rhone Valley has been making Rosé forever. And it's not like the popular Provence style that everybody loves now is anything new to the French. But the great masses of wine consumers in the US are just catching on. So what happened? 

I'll tell you what I think happened just by simple observation throughout my years in the industry. It was an outstanding effort in successful long-term sales pitching.

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Recipe: Braised Lamb with Roasted Vegetables

This recipe was provided by Colomé to be paired with their Estate Malbec, which I reviewed yesterday. It's ridiculously easy to make and looks freakin' amazing!

INGREDIENTS:

For the lamb:
1 leg of lamb (5 lbs aprox.)
Salt, pepper, rosemary and olive olive

For the roasted vegetables:
2 carrots
2 beets
5 oz green beans
5 oz small red potatoes
3 oz onion
Lemon zest

PREPERATION:

1) Lamb
- Heat oven to 325-350 degrees.
- Prepare the leg of lamb by cutting the sinew and the end of the bone. Make several cuts ½ inch deep along the leg. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes on each side, basting throughout, until lamb is golden brown.

2) Vegetables
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut all vegetables into same size pieces.
- In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt, and lemon zest. Mix well and spread on sheet pan.
- Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

3) Serve

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Wine Review: Colomé Estate Malbec 2016

Malbec World Day is on the 17th of April and I've got five wines from Argentina to review leading up to the big day. I'll doing full reviews on Colomé wines with their 2018 Estate Torrontés, their 2016 Estate Malbec (which I'm reviewing right now), and their 2017 Auténtico Malbec. And I'll also be doing some quickie reviews of Amalaya wines, starting their 2018 Blanco and ending with their 2017 Malbec on Malbec World Day itself. Both Colomé and Amalaya are owned by Hess Family Wine Estates.

Bodega Colomé is one of the oldest working wineries in Argentina, and home to the highest vineyards in the word (expect for recent plantings in Tibet). Based in the Calchaqui Valley, high in the Salta region of northwestern Argentina, Colomé was established in 1831, with vineyards planted at high elevations on original rootstock imported from Bordeaux. Vines from these historic plantings are still bearing fruit today.

Four estate vineyards are blended to make the 2016 Estate Malbec, but it is 100% Malbec. Colomé vineyard (65%) gives the wine its complexity and weight, the El Arena vineyard (25%) gives elegance and freshness, while La Brava vineyard (5%) brings intense ripe fruit, and finally the Altura Maxima vineyard (5%) brings floral and mineral notes with find grain tannins. It spent 15 months in French oak barrels and 6 months in the bottle before release.

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Beer Quickie: Birzeit Brewery Shepherds Blonde Pilsner Lager (Palestine)

I love experiencing different things from different places and today I'm lucky enough to drink some beer from Palestine! It's bright amber in color and really just an excellent example of a crisp and refreshing blonde lager with notes of fluffy white bread, caramel, and lemon meringue. I like my beers either malty or bready, and this one features both. And the slightly bitter finish plays great with the malt. Simplistic, easy drinking, poundable. It's available through Terra Sancta Trading.

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Video Unboxing: Funko Pop! Game of Thrones #71: Tyrion Sitting on Iron Throne

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Ten things to know about Kosher wine

Guest Post by Vicki Garfinkel, VICKIGJ PR.

Bayonne, NJ, April 5, 2019 -- With the Jewish holidays just around the corner (PASSOVER starts April 19th), many people choose to serve wines that are kosher-certified. So, just how different is kosher wine from the non-kosher stuff?

“When it comes to taste, there’s no difference between kosher and non-kosher wine,” says Jay Buchsbaum, Executive VP Marketing and Director of Wine Education at Royal Wine Corp. — the top kosher wine purveyor in America. “In fact, many kosher wines are award winning - beating out their non-kosher competitors for top varietal prizes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and rosés as well.

There’s a common ‘urban legend’ that wine is rendered kosher after being blessed by a Rabbi – that is incorrect. For a wine to be made kosher there are strictly supervised purity guidelines that need to be followed from the moment the grapes enter the winery to when the wine is bottled,” adds Buchsbaum.

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Wine Review: Colomé Estate Torrontés 2018

Malbec World Day is on the 17th of April and I've got five wines from Argentina to review leading up to the big day. I'll be doing full reviews on Colomé wines with their 2018 Estate Torrontés (which I'm reviewing right now), their 2016 Estate Malbec, and their 2017 Auténtico Malbec. And I'll also be doing some quickie reviews of Amalaya wines, starting their 2018 Blanco and ending with their 2017 Malbec on Malbec World Day itself. Both Colomé and Amalaya are owned by Hess Family Wine Estates.

Bodega Colomé is one of the oldest working wineries in Argentina, and home to the highest vineyards in the word (expect for recent plantings in Tibet). Based in the Calchaqui Valley, high in the Salta region of northwestern Argentina, Colomé was established in 1831, with vineyards planted at high elevations on original rootstock imported from Bordeaux. Vines from these historic plantings are still bearing fruit today.

The 2018 Estate Torrontés  is 100% Torrontés from the La Brava Vineyard estate at 5,500 feet above sea level in the Upper Calchaqui Valleys of Salta, Argentina. Everything was done in stainless steel and it spent 3 months aging in the bottle before release. I reviewed the 2015 vintage back in 2016.

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Clearance Wine Quickie: Fattoria Paradiso Vigna delle Lepri Sangiovese Riserva 2009

Phew! This is supposed to be a quickie so the long-ass name of the wine is enough! Jeez! This is a Sangiovese di Romagna that is now officially 10 years old and it's still drinking just fine. It's medium bodied with tart cherries, blueberries, leather, and cigarette box. There's some surprise strawberry on the finish along with lively acidity and nice chalky tannin still going strong. Very good deal at the discounted price!

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The scroll of truth!

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April Wine Pick: Chono Single Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

April is going to be an awesome (and strange) month on the blog! Malbec World Day is April 17th so I've got plenty of Argentinian wines to review leading up to the day. I'll talk a little about the popularity of rosé. Then there's going to be Sake, wines from Gascony, Armagnac, canned wine, recipes, and more original memes. Also, Distill Wars will be making a glorious (and dangerous) return with Tequila.

Oh yes. It's going to be a fun month. And it all kicks off with my Wine Pick!

The Chono winery is named after the Chono tribe of Chile, of which there is not much information available. Charles Darwin said they were one of the bravest native tribes and the only to resist being conquered by the Spaniards. In 1946 writer Benjamín Subercaseaux Zañartu claimed that they were still surviving as an uncontacted tribe.

Chono the winery was founded by Alvaro Espinoza in 2004. Their goal is to make wine from Chile’s most interesting appellations. Each farm is carefully selected, allowing the different varieties to express themselves at their best with all of their varietal character and fruit potential.

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