As if all the work I put in for the previous post wasn't enough, yesterday three friends from my favorite drinks rag,
Imbibe Magazine, stopped by the
wine shack to taste a batch of Oregon Pinot Noir Rosés for an article coming out in their June issue and to get some input from yours truly. Always happy to help enable the public's consumption
and education, and being a lover of all things pink and grapey, I was more than ready. We popped the corks on eight bottles from various local producers, and dove in. Unfortunately, we should've jumped right out, because with one or two exceptions, these were major disappointments.....
My idea of a perfect rosé is one that is dry, crisp, fresh on the nose, light to medium bodied with a snappy finish. You know, pretty much what you get from 90% of Euro rosés, which are my standard bearers. In my experience feeding these to my customers, this is what the public seems to prefer as well. After tasting these local atrocities yesterday, I've gotta wonder what these Oregon wine dudes are thinking. It wasn't just me, either. The Imbibe people pretty much agreed. Especially when I pulled out two '06 French versions so they could see how it should be done. The French bottles blew the Oregon juice away, leaving them seeming simple, one dimensional, and flabby. A couple of the Oregon bottles were near undrinkable. The '06 Maysara was sweet, cloying, lacking acid and any presence. The
2006 Sokol Blosser was undrinkable, having this awful wet wood, smelly sock aroma and flavor that as the wine warmed up only got worse. Kate from Imbibe told me they're pimping it hard at
New Seasons, a local grocery chain. All I can say is they must have been cut a helluva deal. Two words: Buyer Beware! Three more: Save your money! This was awful. The one that I will actually consider carrying is the
'06 Elk Cove, which actually had that dry, crisp, refreshing character I look for. The
'06 Ponzi Rosado is also marginally acceptable. The others were forgettable, and frankly a waste of glass. Plus their prices were almost uniformly $3-$6 more per bottle than what a delicious Euro rosé would cost...yikes!
Oh, the big winner? The little Frenchie rosé from Provence, the
2006 Domaine Sorin "Terra Amata" (above), a steal at $10.95. Perfect right out of the bottle, and even as it sat in the glass didn't lose a bit of its bright, charming flavors. Memo to Oregon rosé producers: Before you start working on your '07 pinks, PLEASE open a few bottles of French, Spanish, or Italian rosés. If not for yourselves, then for your victims...err, customers, who you hope will buy this stuff!
Far be it for me to toot my own horn, so I'll let the current July/August issue of my favorite drinks rag Imbibe Magazine blow it long and loud, because they were savvy and kind enough to choose my humble wine shack VINO here in Portland as one of the Eight Great U.S. Wine Shops!!! What do I think of that? Pretty fucking awesome, that's what! Grab the latest issue at your favorite magazine vendor and check me...er, it out. My only complaint? I know I'm a big white guy, but it would have been nice to photoshop some skin tone into the pic, but hey, I'll take it. Huge thanks to publisher Karen Foley, Siobhan Crosby, and my interviewer Amy Zavatto for letting me vent and leaving in the expletives. You guys have absolutely rocked my world!!
