Affordable Holiday Sparklers

When I'm not indulging in dessert wine this month, I'm usually rooting through the cabinets for a bottle of sparkling wine. It's not something I save for special occasions--unless you consider a Tuesday night sufficient! More sparkling wine is sold in the US between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day than in the rest of the year. So what will you be drinking this month to put some sparkle in your life? Here are my recommendations for tasty, affordable bubbles for the holidays--and of course they're all under $20.

NV Jaume Serra Cava Cristalino Brut (suggested retail $8; available in the market for $5-$8). Quite possibly the most excellent QPR of any sparkling wine I've had this year, this is stunning value. The aromas and flavors tend toward lemon, toast and apple. There is a yeasty aftertaste, and a strong yet small bead. Delicious for the price.

NV Presto Prosecco Brut ($10.99, Whole Foods; available elsewhere for around $12)
I'm not sure I agree this is a dry enough to be brut, but it is delicious anyway with soft fruit, citrus, and yeast notes. The wine is very well balanced between acidity and richness. Very good QPR.

NV Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley ($19.99, Whole Foods; available in the market for $16-$20) You just can't go wrong with this classy, excellent QPR sparkler from the Anderson Valley. Rich notes of apple, hazelnut, and toast leave an appealing freshness in the mouth.

NV Gloria Ferrer Va de Vi Ultra Cuvée (just over $20 in my local independent grocery store; available in the market for $16-$22). The warm, pale yellow color of this wine is a good indication of the gentle wine within. Abundant mousse and fine bead sets up the aromas of pear and lemon. These elements are echoed in the flavors, and are accompanied by cherry and toast notes. Predominantly Pinot Noir, with some Chardonnay and a touch of Muscat. Very good QPR.

NV Laurens Crémant de Limoux Brut ($15.99 in my local independent grocery store; available in the market for $12-$18) Another reliably excellent QPR sparkler, this wine has a creamy mouthfeel and aromas of citrus pith and brioche dough. Creamy pear, apple, and lemon flavors are enhanced by tiny, frothy bubbles. Delicious and lively.

NV Vinos de Terrunos German Gilabert Penedès Brut Nature Reserva ($14.99, domaineLA; available in the market for around $13) This excellent QPR sparkler has an aromatic profile reminiscent of French Champagne: yeast, lemon pith, mineral. Brightly intense lemon and bread dough flavors with lively bubbles.

NV Latitude 50 Pinot Noir Spatburgunder Sekt ($16.99, domaineLA; available in the market for around $15) This very good QPR dry sparkling wine is pale rose in color. Faint aromas of wild strawberry and bread dough lead to a rich, round-tasting strawberry flavor accented with notes of toast and clay.

2008 Reginato Malbec Celestina (suggested retail, $20; available in the market for $17-$20) Unlike any other sparkler I've had, this is very dark in color--like watered-down pomegranate juice. The flavors are quite fruity, with lots of raspberry and a hint of deeper plum as well. There is a dry finish, making for a delicious, seasonally appropriate cranberry-colored sparkler for holiday toasts.Very good QPR.

Full Disclosure: I received samples of the Reginato and the Jaume Serra sparkling wines for review. The rest I purchased when out shopping in my favorite wine and grocery stores.

Has Your Spring Sprung? Time for Rosé

My family on the east coast tells me its in the upper 80s. Here in LA, it's in the low 80s. Spring, apparently, sprung.

Seasonably speaking, it's time to find the grill and get some rosé in the house. At this point in the year, chances are you can still find a lot of last year's rosé on the shelf. As long as the wine store has been storing them properly, that's not a problem. So head over to your favorite wine retailer and pick up a pink wine to enjoy this weekend.

One that you might be able to put your hands on is the 2008 Château Viranel Saint-Chinian (suggested retail $13; available for $10) Made from Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault, this wine epitomizes the sunny, Mediterranean feeling that I want from my rosés. It is true salmon in color, and has aromas of rose petals and raspberries. These elements are echoed in the palate, and there are nice stone notes in the aftertaste. Dry, refreshing, and perfect for charcuterie, salads, grilled sausages or just plain sipping on the patio, this wine has very good QPR--and excellent QPR if you can pick it up on sale for around $10.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

A Case of Bubbles for Spring: J. Laurens Crémant de Limoux Brut

Upcoming spring brunches--check.
Celebration of first flowers blooming--check.
Toasting friends who just got engaged/married--check.
Toasting friends who just had new baby--check.
Mother's Day--check.
Graduation--check.

See how many celebrations you have coming up in the next few months?

That's why you need to know about this wine. It costs under $15 a bottle and is absolutely yummy. Buy it by the case, and you will have bubbles to see you through into June (provided you don't toast too many Tuesdays along the way...).

The NV J. Laurens Crémant de Limoux Brut is one of the best sparklers--if not the best sparkler--I've ever had for under $15 and represents excellent QPR. Available in lots of markets for between $9 and $13, this wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France has a lovely, creamy taste. Abundant fresh citrus pith and brioche dough make a point-counterpoint of zest and richness in the flavors, with fruit notes of pear, apple, and lemon. A great feature of the wine are the tiny, frothy bubbles which make for a delicate impression. The wine is dry (brut), but it's a soft, gentle brut like spring itself. You can enjoy this wine with a wide range of foods and for this price, why wouldn't you??

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

Holiday Food and Wine Strategy #4: Hors d'Oeuvres for the Unexpected

The bell rings. It is 4:30 pm. There is a friend/ neighbor/ long-lost family member on your doorstep with a poinsettia or a tin of fudge or (yikes!!) a fruitcake. You have nothing to give this person in the way of food and libation. Grocery shopping is tomorrow. The cupboards are bare.

Here is the solution. Go out now and buy some big Fuji and Granny Smith apples and put them in a cool place. They will be fine through the New Year provided they don't freeze or you don't sit them next to the stove. The fridge is fine if you have room for them, but otherwise some cool dark nook (near where you keep your wine) is perfect. Buy a wedge or two of Brie and stick them in the cheese drawer.

When people stop by unexpectedly--and they will--slice the apple, remove the rind from the Brie and slice it. Arrange slices of Brie on top of the apples, sprinkle with cracked pepper and (if you have it) some chopped fresh rosemary. Stick this under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until it gets gooey. Using red and green apples in combination adds a festive note but it is not required. Slide it all onto a cutting board or platter, and feel like Martha Stewart only more so. (full disclosure: this recipe is from the February 2007 Bon Appetit, but for some daft reason it is not online)

And if you buy one of those Christmas-tree shaped rosemary topiaries at Trader Joe's you can use it as a decoration and prune it for appetizers throughout the holiday season with no problem. As an added bonus, you will also have enough fresh rosemary to make the Barefoot Contessa's fabulous rosemary roasted cashews as often as you need to, which are perfect for munching with spicy red wine and can be made ahead and stored in a tin to get you through the holidays. Be forewarned: hide the tin or the nuts will be gone in 12 hours as they are addictive.

With this ooey-gooey-warm-comforting and amazingly quick dish, serve a buttery chardonnay to pick up the apple flavors and meld seamlessly into the creamy Brie. You could use your lightly-oaked chardonnay from HFAW #3 (Takeout), or look for a bottling like the one I had from the recently launched Robert Skalli South of France line. Skalli is the man behind Napa Valley's St.-Supery, and he is now bottling juice from his home country for the US market. I received a sample of the 2005 Robert Skalli Chardonnay and thought it had good QPR. (suggested retail price $19.50; I haven't seen it on any on-line sites yet, but keep your eyes peeled for it) The grapes for this wine were grown in the Languedoc, and the juice saw 6 months in new French oak. It had abundant apple flavors and aromas that emerged as soon as you pulled the cork, and there was a nice creaminess on the palate. This wine was very well-balanced between the fruit, the crisp acidity, and the creamy oak so it was a perfect match for this appetizer.

Of course, you needn't wait for guests to devour brie, apples, and a nice chardonnay. We had it one afternoon this past week just to celebrate the end of a day of work and the beginning of a nice evening. Sometimes the best "guests" to treat to an afternoon warm-up like this are those who are already in the house!

Ghosts of WBWs Past: a Biodynamic Wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon

It's been a while since two of my favorite WBW themes: biodynamic wines (hosted by Jack and Joanne at Fork and Bottle) and value wines from Languedoc- Roussillon (hosted by Dr. Weingolb). Months later, I still find myself on the lookout for biodynamic and Languedoc-Roussillon bottlings, which is the true sign of a successful WBW, in my opinion. Other bloggers sometimes call these the "ghosts of WBWs past," because they, too, find themselves going back and reading the roundups and following up on some of the great reviews and finds that fellow bloggers bring out in the open. Just in time for Halloween I had one of these ghostly WBW experiences.

The 2003 Domaine Olivier Pithon Cotes du Roussillon Villages "Saturne" managed to cover two WBW themes in one bottle, since it's a biodynamic wine from the Cotes du Roussillon ($19.50, Red Carpet Wine Shop; available from other merchants for between $20 and $30). Like many wines from the south of France, this Pithon bottling was made from a blend of grenache, carignan, and syrah and had a deep, inky purple color. Either because it was made biodynamically or because it was from the Languedoc-Roussillon, I didn't find it was as aromatic as a Rhone wine made with these varietals. Still, there was loads of plummy fruit and some anise on the palate with a decided streak of minerality. This is what I associate most with biodynamic wines: a long mineral note that extends from the aromas through the last drops in the glass and beyond. Good QPR, especially for the price that I paid for it, though I would have liked it to have a little more balance between the fruit and the mineral notes.

If you are not living in LA (where it was 92 yesterday) then you may be thinking about stews, and this wine would be a good match with beef stew, or a roast chicken that sat in the oven just long enough to warm and perfume your house.

This wine has been positively reviewed recently by the LA Times, where it was included in a list of chic and affordable wines. Domaine Olivier Pithon has an excellent website, where you can learn more about their biodynamic farming practices and their line of wines, so I encourage you to head over there to learn more if you are interested.

First of the Turkey Leftover Wines

This post originally had a different title: Last Rose of the Summer. I had to laugh when I saw exactly this headline on Wannabe Wino's recent post. Apparently, we wine bloggers are often on the same page, and drinking the same wines! I changed mine a bit to compensate, but the point remains the same: these are the final days when it will feel summery to sit outside and drink rose. Like wearing white after Labor Day, drinking rose in October can sometimes feel a little sad.

So why the title for this post? I wanted to remind you that even if you've sworn off rose as a summer wine, don't underestimate its value in November when you are looking for something to go with leftover turkey in the aftermath of Thanksgiving. You won't be able to find very many bottles of rose on the shelf then. Might as well pick up a few bottles of this wine now, because it would be great with a turkey sandwich, oozing with cranberry sauce and a lick of mayo.

Of course, here in LA it IS still summer, and rose is a pretty attractive drinking option. domaine547 gave me a bottle of the 2006 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie l'Hortus Rose Saignee to sample, and it was a perfect wine for these last days of summer, just as it will be perfect in a few months with your turkey sandwiches. Its deep rose color is striking, and an indication of how this wine was made. Roses made from the saignee process are really bi-products of red wine. After a brief contact between the skins and juice, some of the juice is bled out of the vats and this is saignee rose. The rest of the wine in the vat then goes on to produce a big, tannic red wine and the rose wine is bottled separately. In this case the red wine became a Rhone-style blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvedre--which helps to explain the rich and robust nature of this rose.

The 2006 Domaine de l'Hortus Bergerie l'Hortus comes from the Languedoc, and it smells like a southern French summer, with aromas of soft strawberry and wet stone that reminded me of a strawberry patch after a summer rain. These inviting aromas lead into a flavorful mixture of cranberry and strawberry fruit, with a nice contrasting note of mineral and stone on the finish. I often find American roses too fruity, and French Tavel roses too minerally--but this wine achieved a perfect balance between fruit and mineral notes. This rose was nice and dry, with good acidity at its core. It was, I felt, much better balanced than the 2005 Chateau d'Aqueria I had recently, which received many rave print reviews, but has had a much more lukewarm reception among consumers on CellarTracker. This wine costs less, too. You can buy yours from domaine547 for just $12.99. Excellent QPR, for a full-bodied French rose, in my opinion.

If you're drinking this wine now, it would be great with grilled tuna, fried chicken, or poached salmon. Or whip up a bunch of pesto with lots of parsley and walnuts, cook up some cheese tortellini, and toss them together to serve with this wine if you've already consigned your BBQ to the garage. But don't forget: this is a great turkey wine, too.

It's Too Darn Hot

It's hot in LA. Really, really hot. After a relatively cool summer, the Labor Day weekend was a scorcher. It was 108 degrees yesterday--and that's air temperature, not heat index temperature. Drinking wine in such conditions is not always pleasant. Sometimes, the alcohol does funny things in the heat, like give you crashing headaches and make you feel even hotter.

And food. I usually pick what I'm going to drink based on the meal I'm making for dinner and in this heat wave I didn't want anything that was even tepid in temperature.

So I got some peel and eat shrimp, cooked up in lots of Old Bay seasoning. I got a loaf of crusty bread with rosemary. I tossed a salad with tomatoes, arugula, baby romaine, and some sliced avocado. And I popped a bottle of white wine in the fridge. The white wine in question was the 2005 Arnaud Gaujal Picpoul de Pinet Cuvee des Comtesses ($9.99, domaine547). And it was just perfect for the meal and for the heat. (picture of the 2004 label nicked from domaine547's site, too)

I've never had a wine made with the picpoul varietal, one of the 13 Rhone varietals permitted in Chateauneuf du Pape. Despite its use in the Rhone, picpoul is (we think) native to the Languedoc-Roussillon and I had planned to save this wine for Dr. Vino's indigenous grapes Wine Blogging Wednesday next week--but I couldn't wait. The name "picpoul" literally means "lip stinger," and all I can say is it's well-named! It was lip smackingly bright and acidic, but not in an unpleasant way. Instead, there were really bracing citrus and mineral aromas when the wine was poured. The flavors were of white grapefruit, fresh lemon zest, and a touch of pineapple on the finish. As the flavors held in your mouth, they took on an almost bitter edge, like lemon pith. This was tart, refreshing, and an ideal companion to the meal and to the hot late summer temperatures. For under $10, this represented excellent QPR in my book, and was a nice change of pace from California sauvignon blancs or a Spanish white.

This wine would be perfect not only with shrimp, but with crab, oysters, or fish. If you're looking to beat the heat, this is the wine to pick up and eat with a cool salad and some critters from the sea. You'll feel cooler--and not just because you're drinking a hip, little-known varietal. This wine tastes like a cool dip in the pool--which sounds just about perfect right now.

BBQ Wine for the Last Days of Summer

The so-called "dog days of summer" ended on August 11, marking the astronomical turning point of the summer season and our tilt towards fall. The last best BBQ weather is upon us, and even if you can BBQ year round as we can in California, somehow food from the grill always tastes better in summer. I don't know how much they BBQ in France's Languedoc, but I found a perfect wine from that region to go with your grilled foods.

The 2003 Chateau de Caraguilhes is a fun, old-fashioned grenache-based blend with a little bit of syrah, carignan, and mourvedre in the mix. ($10.99, Mission Wine) It's a bit rustic and rough around the edges, with all kinds of warm herbal and brushy notes up front in the aromas. These mouth-watering summer smells are followed by ripe, blackberry fruit and a lingering aftertaste of dusty and grilled herbs. The ripe fruitiness underneath comes through at the very end, keeping the wine balanced and making it utterly perfect for BBQ. This robust wine is unfiltered, so expect it to throw a little sediment, or expect to decant it if this bothers you. I thought this wine represented excellent QPR at just a hair over $10, as it was richer and more complex than many reds at this price-point. And it's organic, to boot.

As for foods to pair with it, it would be as good with simple grilled chicken as it would be with BBQ ribs slathered with a spicy tomato sauce, burgers, hot dogs--you name it.

Chateau de Caraguilhes is a historic wine chateau located in the Corbieres district of the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region in southern France. The tradition of grape-growing and wine-making extends back to Cistercian monks in the 12th century. The chateau was a pioneer of organic agriculture, and the vines have been farmed without chemicals or pesticides since 1958, a tradition that continues today in this certified organic winery.

I tried a white from the Languedoc for WBW #33, and did not like it as much as I had expected to given the reds I've tasted and enjoyed. But this wine didn't disappoint, and confirmed my sense that if you like robust reds, you should keep your eyes out for wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon.

Flying My Freak Flag

If you think there is something inherently freaky about blending red and white grape varietals, you may want to think again. They've been doing just that for a long time in such chi-chi appellations as the Cote-Rotie in the Rhone. There, red wines can include up to 20% of a white varietal, viognier. The white grape lends its wonderful aromatics to the red, giving it a soft and somewhat mysterious aroma and a smoothness on the palate that can be extremely appealing. In the Cote-Rotie, the red and white varietals are grown together in what is known as a "field blend," then picked and co-fermented at the same time.

Cote-Rotie reds are so perfumed and so popular that the technique was bound to spread, and today winemakers from Australia to California are blending white and red grapes. Sometimes they co-ferment; sometimes they simply white and reds that have been fermented separately. Recently, I had a co-fermented blend of syrah and viognier from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France: the 2003 Le Freak Shiraz-Viognier ($13.99, Whole Foods; available from other merchants for between $11 and $13). Here the blend contains 85% syrah and 15% viognier. This blend was not as aromatic as most I've tried previously, and what aromas there were represented an odd combination of artificial flower and tar aromas. These were never very strong, and underneath there were flavors of blackberry, leather, and spice. This made for a chewy, rich syrah that (had I tasted it blind) I would never have pegged as a syrah-viognier blend. As a result, I reluctantly had to conclude it represented poor QPR, even though it was perfectly drinkable as a syrah.

So does this mean I'm taking down my freak flag and giving up on red/white blends? Not on your life. One of my favorite wines of all time is the Black Chook, an Australian blend of shiraz and viognier that I simply adore. And I have a bottle of D'Arenberg's Laughing Magpie, another Aussie shiraz-viognier blend. Rumor has it that one of my favorite domestic wineries will be producing a small bottle run of just such a blend later this year, too. I'll tell you right now, I'll run you over if you get in my way to score some of that! Maybe this wine was past its prime, since Andrew at Spittoon in the UK was drinking the 2006 vintage just this spring. At any rate, my freak flag is still flying, and I'll still be on the lookout for good syrah-shiraz/viognier blends.

WBW #33 Roundup: Languedoc-Roussillon Wines

If you're looking for a good value bottle of wine, there are links to reviews of more than 40 mid-priced wines ($15-$30) from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France over at Doktor Weingolb.

Marcus, aka Dr. Weingolb, set a terrrific theme that allowed bloggers to review a wide variety of juicy reds and some intriguing whites, too. It looks like the Minervois showed particularly well in this blind tasting, as did the Cotes du Roussillon. In general, the entire region is one to explore if you are a budget-conscious wine buyer.

Big thanks go to Marcus for providing such good background material to the region prior to the event, and for getting the roundup online in short order. And thanks to all the participants who have given us such a range of wines to try in the upcoming weeks.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #33: Mid-Priced Wines from the Midi

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #33, the online tasting event dreamed up by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours. Today our host is Marcus, better known as Dr. Weingolb, who came up with a terrific theme: mid-priced wines from the Midi. The Midi is the region in Southern France that might be better known as the Languedoc-Roussillon. The region produces hearty reds and full-bodied whites at excellent prices, and Marcus wanted us to focus for this tasting on wines that retail between $15 and $30. I've had many Languedoc-Roussillon wines that were under $15, but this was only my second foray into the slightly higher priced bottlings.

For my entry I tried the 2004 Domaine Olivier Pithon Côtes du Roussillon Cuvée Laïs ($19.00, Red Carpet Wine; $26.99 from K & L). This was a very interesting wine made with grenache blanc, grenache gris, and macabeo (aka viura) grapes. While I've had other wines made from grenache blanc, I've never had anything made from the other two varietals. And the grenache blancs I've had have been very perfumed. In this wine, the aromas were almost entirely from the mineral kingdom, with the fruit aromas very muted and almost non-existant. Sips of this wine revealed more mineral flavors, along with stone, wet grass, and herbs. There was a slight tinge of apple, as well, but only a slight tinge.

Languedoc-Roussillon wines respond well to the flavors of the Mediterranean--seafood, herbs, tomatoes, spices, and vegetables--so we had this with a roast chicken, a green salad, and lots of accompaniments, like flat-breads, olives, tzatziki, red pepper spread, and hummus. The wine went well with these flavors, and the mineral notes sliced through the varied spices without any problem.

Like many winemakers of the region, Olivier Pithon practices biodynamics, the subject of an earlier Wine Blogging Wednesday hosted by Jack and Joanne at Fork and Bottle. These are a body of traditional viticultural practices recorded by Rudolf Steiner, which include enriching the soil with natural ingredients and steering clear of pesticides (for more information, click on either of the links above which have many useful resources). I felt that Pithon's biodynamic practices may help to explain the minerality of his wine, as this was a feature of biodynamic wines that many of us commented on in the previous WBW event.

This wine had good QPR, but I still felt like the lower price bottlings often have even more bang for the buck. Still, this experience confirms that I would never shy away from a Languedoc-Roussillon wine in the wine shop. I've yet to have one that I felt wasn't worth the price I paid for it, or one that didn't deliver lots of interesting flavor. I'm looking forward to what others found out about the region's wines. To check out the WBW #33 posts as they come in, you can click on the comments section to this post on Dr. Weingolb. Or, you can wait for the round-up. As usual, I'll post a link to that over here as soon as Marcus gets it up and running. Thanks to Marcus for a great theme, and I'll see you back here for WBW #34 next month.

Catavino Virtual Rose Tasting #2: the French Entry

I'm having a great time with Catavino's Virtual Wine Tasting for April, which is focusing on rose wines. The folks at Catavino know how to time an event--the May 31 Wine Spectator will have rose on the cover and a big story with their tasting notes. But thanks to the blogosphere you get a jump on the competition in the wine store!

For my last rose post for Catavino, which gave tasting notes for a 2005 Bonny Doon Vin Gris, I experimented with a new format, first tried here at Good Wine under $20, called the "tag-cloud review." Here's my latest experiment in reviewing, which attempts to take the standard color/aroma/palate wine review and put it in the context of a much more common social interaction: meeting up with someone new. After all, having a glass of wine should be the start of a beautiful relationship between you, your five senses, and the wine in question. Most reviews just try to give you the high points you can expect as you get to know an unfamiliar bottling. But maybe this will put it in more friendly terms! I got great feedback on the "Tag-Cloud Review", so let me know what you think of the "Getting to Know You Review."

Getting to Know the 2005 Mas Grand Plagniol Costières-de-Nîmes Tradition Rosé (Beverages and More, $9.99)

First Impressions: I've never seen a rose this dark before. It's the color of slightly diluted cranberry juice, which makes me think this is going to be a rich, round wine. It's packaged in a relatively plain bottle, which has an attractive shape. And the wine comes from a region in the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France, an area known for its superb roses, so I'm pretty confident that this meeting won't be disappointing. Though I find it odd that this wine from the area where the Languedoc meets the Rhone has Rhone all over it and Languedoc no where on the label. Is this a case of Rhone wines being more familiar than Languedoc wines?

Shaking Hands: I pop the cork on the bottle, and give the bottle a good sniff (never can wait until it's in the glass). Already there is a garden of flower smells emerging, especially roses (or do I just think I smell roses because of the rosy color? Is this the power of first impressions?) and sweet berries. The wine, once poured into a glass, is still that rich cranberry color, and still has all the smells of a warm summer garden. I already think I like this wine.

Getting to Know You: Now it's time to really get to know this wine. I take my first few sips, and my first impressions were not wrong: I like this wine. It has round, strawberry flavors that tinge towards more powerful cranberry notes (or am I being influenced by my first impressions, I wonder?) It is not as dry as the Bonny Doon wine I had earlier, but it is not sweet either. It is ROUND and ripe, like a field-ripened, fresh-picked strawberry, and it even has a fresh strawberry's tannins around the edges, puckering up the borders of your tongue and making you thirsty for more wine. I wonder what's in it in terms of varietals, and the web reveals that it has 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 10% Cinsault grapes. This explains a lot, since grenache is known for its berry and floral flavors and aromas, as is syrah. The Cinsault is best known as a blending grape with a sweet, sunny personality and low tannins. It's a nice blend here, and I particularly like the predominance of Grenache which I can really taste. And it goes well with my dinner companion, a rosy chicken tikka masala with warm spices, grilled marinated meat, and a creamy-tomato sauce.

Waving Good-bye: I feel like I've found another friend on the wine shelves, one that is juicy and round without being sweet, that will go with nearly every food imaginable, and one that is priced right. Is there another wine type around that delivers so much in the neighborhood of $10? I don't think so; this wine is food-friendly, has abundant varietal characteristics, and excellent QPR. Will I buy a Languedoc-Roussillon rose again? Absolutely! (and I sure hope folks drink some for WBW #33). Am I sorry to leave you, yes. But is that a Spanish rose I see around the corner?? This rose makes me want to get to know more pink wines, and to deepen my knowledge of European rose bottlings.

You still have time to participate in this April tasting, and you don't need a blog. If you've had a rose this month and remember what you thought about it, drop a note in the Catavino Forum. Two Good Wine Under $20 readers and fellow bloggers have already posted over there, Nate from VinVenio and Deb from Key West Wine Deb. The forum participants have left some good recommendations for you to check out when you need a rose in the upcoming months, and I'm putting some of my rose finds from Rhone Rangers in a separate forum post. I'll pop the cork on my Spanish rose, the grand finale of my April rose experiences, this weekend and post the notes in the forum and on the site on April 30.