2014 Domaine Saint Aix Rosé paired with grilled salmon

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? If so, you might want to check out the 2014 Domaine Saint Aix Rosé from the Provence region of France.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$20
• Must be widely available

Maison Saint Aix, a 130-year-old winery, is situated in the south of France, just an hour northeast of Aix en Provence. Their Domaine Saint Aix Rosé is easy to find across the United States, especially this time of year. It is great as a sipper and gets even better with food. We especially enjoy pairing it with grilled salmon.

When the sun is shining and you’re looking for a refreshing beverage to enjoy on the deck or in the backyard, don’t forget to give rosé wine a shot and this 2014 Domaine Saint Aix Rosé is a great place to start.

2014 Domaine Saint Aix Rosé (Provence, France): 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 20% Cinsault. Pale salmon color. Very aromatic with strawberry, orange peel, and floral notes on both the nose and palate. Dry and light-bodied with crisp acidity and a long finish. Well-balanced, food-friendly, and very refreshing.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $14.99; Available elsewhere, $14 to $20

The post A Wine for Tonight: 2014 Domaine Saint Aix Rosé appeared first on Wine Peeps.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$20
• Must be widely available

Julia’s Dazzle Rosé is produced and bottled under the Dolan & Weiss Cellars label. However, the masterminds behind it are Long Shadows’ founder Allen Shoup and winemaker Gilles Nicault. For years, Gilles made a dry rosé for Allen to enjoy and share with his own family and friends. After numerous requests from guests at Allen’s dinner parties, in 2011, he asked Gilles to set aside a special block of grapes at The Benches Vineyard to allow for increased production. Formerly known as Juliette’s Dazzle, this wine continues to deliver in its third vintage and is a great choice to enjoy on these warm summer days.

“Sourced from a special block of Pinot Grigio from The Benches Vineyard at Wallula, the grapes were whole cluster pressed and the clarified juice fermented at cool temperatures to retain its intensely vibrant aromatics and flavors.”

2013 Julia’s Dazzle Rosé (The Benches Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): 98% Pinot Grigio and 2% Sangiovese. Pale pink salmon in color. Very aromatic with watermelon, raspberry, and floral notes on both the nose and palate. Dry and light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a long, refreshing finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $16; Available elsewhere, $15 to $18

A Wine for Tonight: 2013 Julia’s Dazzle Rosé was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Once again, I referred to my favorite book, What to Drink with What You Eat, and decided to try a Rosé and Chianti with this meal. We selected the 2012 Robert Ramsay Rosé from Washington State and the 2009 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva from Italy. Both wines were excellent, but the unanimous choice as the best pairing was the Rosé.

What would you pair with this meal?  And, as always, we welcome your suggestions for future challenging pairings.

Bon Appétit!

2012 Robert Ramsay Rosé (Columbia Valley, Washington): 45% Grenache, 45% Cinsault, and 10% Viognier. Medium pinkish salmon color. Very aromatic with raspberry, strawberry, and watermelon on both the nose and palate. Dry and light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity. Well-balanced with a very long, refreshing finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $18; Available elsewhere, $16 to $18

2009 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva (Chianti Classico DOCG, Italy): Deep, dark red. Very aromatic with black cherry and earth on both the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with lively acidity and smooth tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: K & L Wine Merchants (California), $17.99; Available elsewhere, $17 to $25

Challenging Wine Pairing: Gnocchi was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

The Grand Tasting is the “main event” each day. This year, Taste Washington featured 226 wineries pouring their wines and 68 Northwest restaurants serving small bites. With more than 780 wineries now open in the state of Washington, this event offers attendees the opportunity to try a large number of them in one place at one time. Considering the time and gas money you save not having to crisscross the state visiting tasting rooms and making appointments, the price of admission to Taste Washington is money well spent. Now, don’t get me wrong, once you attend an event like this and discover some favorite new wines and wineries, you will definitely want to make plans to travel to the wineries to visit and taste again. There is nothing like spending a long weekend in Washington wine country.

One of the best aspects of Taste Washington is that often you will find either the winemaker and/or winery owner pouring that winery’s wines. In addition to visiting with a number of people whose wines we have enjoyed in the past, we always find it a great opportunity to try some wines from wineries whose wines we have not previously tasted.

With over 800 wines featured at a large tasting like this, we can only taste through a limited number of them. Therefore, we don’t try to revisit wines that we have recently reviewed (i.e. Avennia, etc.). Keeping that in mind, my favorite wines from the Grand Tasting, from wineries whose wines we’ve enjoyed in the past, were the 2008 Boudreaux Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2011 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Fall Line Winery Red Willow Red Wine, and the 2011 Rotie Cellars Northern Blend.

At Taste Washington last year, our most exciting discovery was Kevin White Winery. We deemed it as a winery to watch. Kevin White recently released his 2012 vintage wines, and this was our first opportunity to taste them. They did not disappoint. In fact, his 2012’s are even better than his 2011’s. The 2012 La Fraternité Red Wine and the 2012 En Hommage Red Wine are both outstanding. And, I expect them to only improve with some age. With price tags under $30, both wines deliver serious bang for your buck.

For the best new-to-us winery, my nod goes to Bartholomew Winery. While not a brand new winery, we had not tasted their wines previously. They were pouring three wines at the Grand Tasting, the 2013 Aligote, the 2013 Rosé of Carmenere, and the 2010 Reciprocity Red Blend. All three were very good and are worth checking out. Bart and Chona Fawbush founded Bartholomew Winery in 2007. Their tasting room located in Seattle’s historic Old Rainier Brewery building is open to the public for tastings on the weekends.

Did you attend Taste Washington this year? What were some of your favorite wines?

Even though Taste Washington Wine Month has concluded, here’s to enjoying excellent Washington wine all year long. Cheers!

Taste Washington 2014: Highlights from Seattle’s Wine & Food Weekend was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.