Christie Kiley on August 10, 2015 0 Comments Summer is still on! While it is still warm out, be sure to take advantage of these last few weeks by enjoying this season’s biggest trend: Rosé! There are plenty of rosé wines from all around the globe to pique your interest. Grill up your favorite salmon, halibut or just make a great ceviche recipe with some scallops and watermelon, some citrus juices and tarragon. These favorite summer ingredients just cry out for a rosé, and I have the perfect pick. This week we will be looking at the 2014 Red Car Pinot Noir Rosé of Sonoma County. About Red Car Winery The viticulture team at Red Car winery are all about a hands-on approach when it comes to crafting wine. They have formed valuable relationships with growers in the Sonoma area who have integrated many practices–organic, permaculture and biodynamics–into their vine growing. For Red Car, this is the right way things should be done. A great wine that comes from a sustainable practice and mindset is one which should be celebrated. For them, it is not about just connecting with a wine, but with nature as well. It is about connecting with a place and a place in time. The practice of making wine for Red Car is about community, the land and the source from which it came. The Sonoma Coast Along the coastline of Sonoma, you can find a diverse community: from farmers to cheese makers, ranchers to artisans, and more. All of these people work together from soil to the final product, which is what brings excellence to their goods. The landscape is vast with a variety of microclimates which make each wine unique and special. It takes a talented mind, artist and skilled hand to pick out the right vineyard to create a proper wine. Sometimes it is about choosing a vineyard for quality grapes, growers and a viticulture team with experience and long-standing reputation. But sometimes it is simply about knowing what to do with what nature gives you. The 2014 Red Car Pinot Noir Rosé This week’s pick–the 2014 Red Car Pinot Noir Rosé–has fruit sourced from the biodynamic vineyards of Sebastopol Hills and Bybee Vineyard of the West Sonoma Coast. The Bybee Vineyards are located next to the renowned Hartford Family Arrendell vineyard along the Atascadero Creek. The microclimate here is one that has been celebrated for fruit which has made acclaimed wine for generations. The cool nights that lead into foggy mornings in sandy-loamy soils create some of the best Pinot Noir grapes in all of California. The vineyards of Sebastopol Hills are located southwest and south of Sebastopol town and part of the Russian River AVA. Here, the rolling hills create another microclimate with cool winds from the Petaluma Wind Gap and the Russian River Valley. The varying hill climate produce different fruits depending on wind, sun and exposure to fog throughout the day. When these grapes are combined for the Red Car Pinot Noir Rosé of varying climatic conditions, it creates a wine with many layers and notable characteristics. For those of you who have not yet been intrigued by any rosé, I really insist you to give this one a try. Pairing Suggestion This wine is perfect for celebrating the last few weeks of summer. It is refreshing and a wine anyone can appreciate, whether you are a lover of red wine or white wine. It is on the dry style and light on alcohol, which makes it perfect for light snacks, but still has the flavors to go with even a light pork dish. On the nose it is delightfully red with wild strawberry and watermelon essence with the spritz of a sliced pink grapefruit. Take a sip and be reminded of cool raspberries, summer melon, ruby grapefruit and kumquat. For a great meal paring, try the following recipe: Scallop, Watermelon & Tarragon Ceviche Ingredients: 1 small watermelon Scallops (any size, you’ll cut them anyway), about 8 oz. 1 orange 2 limes 1 lemon 1/2 bunch fresh tarragon 1 shallot 3-4 green/spring onions Cayenne pepper spice Directions: Get yourself a good salad bowl. Zest one lime. Juice the orange, limes and half a lemon and set the juice aside. Dice up half of the small watermelon into about ¼ inch cubes and leave out any seeds. Dice the scallops into about the same size. Then dice the shallot into as fine a dice as possible. Finely slice the spring onions with some of the green parts as well. Then remove the leaves of tarragon from their stems and just give them a rough chop. Don’t make it too fine. It really just needs a rough chop to cut the leaves in half. Place it all in the salad bowl with a taste of salt and fresh-cracked pepper and a pinch of the cayenne spice (or more if you like it extra spicy). Cover the bowl and place it in your fridge. It will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Serve with tortilla chips or some good focaccia toasts. Don’t forget to enjoy it with the 2014 Red Car Pinot Noir Rosé!
