Our third class in our Saturaday Wine School Series, yesterday, was a lot of fun. We sold out the class at 40 guests. The theme of class number three was "Rose- Think Pink" in honor of the budding cherry blossoms.
We tasted and discussed 5 wines, (4 rose and 1 sparkling blanc de noir.) One special treat was trying two very nice wines from Wolffer Estate and Comtesse Teresa from Long Island NY. Both wines were from small boutique wineries, handcrafted- and it showed. Other offereings were A to Z rose from Oregon and Ata Rangi Rose from New Zealand.
The basic structure of each class- a short overview on the topic, basic hits and tips on tasting, and then tasting through and discussing each wine. We finish up with delicious Asian Tapas from our menu at Fujimamas and some fun networking time for students.
Our next class will be "Drinking Green" focusing on Organic wines, and will be held on May 26th. Email us info@fujimamas.com to reserve, but if you are interested do it soon as we sell out early every time.
Thanks to all the Wine School attendees and regulars, as well as thanks to Jan Nelson from Orca International for teaching the classes with me.
1 comment:
some stuff I learned preparing for the wine school
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Rose
(row-ZAY)
A Rose by Any Other Name
Technically, a rose is an "unfinished red wine," but the term seems so- secondary. Rose is a different sort of wine, with all the refreshing qualities of a white wine mixed with some characteristics of a red. It can be made from many different grape varietals and in many different regions, the most popular and successful being Southern France, Spain, California & Italy.
Notable Facts
Rose is a wine that goes through the red winemaking process, but is stopped before extracting too many red wine characteristics. Almost always made from red varietals, the grapes are pressed and the juice sits with the skins for fermentation - but just for a little while - enough time to get a bit of color and a bit of the skin characteristics. Then fermentation continues as a white wine, most often in stainless steel.
Roses are typically ready to drink early - not so much to age. Some popular regions of Rose are Tavel (an AOC for ONLY rose wines in the Rhone area of France), other areas of Southern France, Spain, Italy and California. Almost all regions make rose, and many from different grape varieties (Grenache-based in Spain, France, Australia and South Africa; Sangiovese or Nebbiolo in Italy). Just like red and white wines, roses can be of different styles - sweet or dry, dark or light - the winemaker and grape variety (or varieties as roses are often blended) are key. Pink wines have delicious character and are perfect for food. For dryer styles of Rose, try those from Southern France and Spain, for the sweeter styles, look for White Zinfandel and some other California rose makers.
Summing it up
Successful Sites: Southern France, Spain, Italy, California
Common Descriptors: strawberry, raspberry
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