{"id":5280,"date":"2013-07-01T17:09:17","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T00:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=5280"},"modified":"2014-02-23T17:02:24","modified_gmt":"2014-02-24T01:02:24","slug":"cocktail-corner-roses-are-in-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=5280","title":{"rendered":"Cocktail Corner: Ros\u00e9s are in Bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mark

Mark Pfeiffer, wine specialist\/buyer for Whole Foods Market, shows off the Ros\u00e9 Garden. Photo by Leslie Dinaberg<\/p><\/div>\n

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! \u00a0By Leslie Dinaberg<\/b><\/p>\n

I took some time to stop and smell the\u00a0ros\u00e9s this week when Whole Foods Market<\/a> wine specialist\/buyer Mark Pfeiffer took me on walk through his wine garden of delights. (I know … it’s \u00a0a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!) Ros\u00e9s are in full bloom these days, turning what used to be a warm weather seasonal go-to into a year-round favorite blend.<\/p>\n

It’s been happening over the last three \u00a0years, explains Pfeiffer. “We’re getting a lot more dry ros\u00e9s and\u00a0more people are experimenting with ros\u00e9s. More sommeliers are really excited about the food pairings with high acid ros\u00e9s\u00a0and we’ve been fortunate to partner with some local producers who have been producing excellent quality roses for our One<\/em> line of wine, which have been delightful as well.”<\/p>\n

\"One

One Wine exclusive labels from Whole Foods (courtesy photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

That One Wine<\/em> line includes exclusive partnerships with local vintners\u00a0Ampelos Cellars<\/a>, Au Bon Climat Winery<\/a>, Clendenen Family Winery<\/a>, Fallbrook Winery<\/a>, Happy Canyon<\/a>, Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Winery<\/a>, Hearst Ranch Winery<\/a>, Margerum Wine Company<\/a> and Sextant Wines<\/a>, but we’ll get to that in a minute.<\/p>\n

When I asked\u00a0Pfeiffer what was driving the popularity of\u00a0ros\u00e9s, he told me, “I think that winemakers are taking ros\u00e9\u00a0to a new level and I think that in the restaurants and the consumers themselves too, they are opening themselves up to this new ros\u00e9\u00a0and saying, ‘wow this is not only great in the afternoon or as the first course, but it really goes great with oysters or with seafood or with a saffron rice too.'”<\/p>\n

Whole Foods has an impressive collection of high-quality ros\u00e9 wines, none of which could be confused with the overly sweet old-fashioned White Zinfandels that Grandma used to drink. This includes a variety of vintners from all over the world, including custom, local and imported brands.<\/p>\n

Topping the list of the Whole Foods Market\u2019s Ros\u00e9 Garden are two local wines\u2014from Ampelos Cellars<\/strong> and Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Vineyards<\/strong>\u2014which are part of the company\u2019s \u201cOne Wine\u201d collection that I mentioned before. This collection of wines represents a unique\u00a0collaborative label, bringing shoppers unique, local varietals at affordable prices, not to mention exposing our local winemakers to customers throughout Southern California. To date, Whole Foods’ One Wine collaborations have delivered 29 handcrafted wines that include a pinot gris, a white wine blend, and a variety of ros\u00e9s and red wines.<\/p>\n

\"Everything's

Everything’s coming up ros\u00e9 these days at Whole Foods Market. Photo by Leslie Dinaberg<\/p><\/div>\n

From within this set of exclusive wines, the One Wine Ampelos Cellars Ros\u00e9 <\/b>has what\u00a0Pfeiffer describes as “this really lovely, almost \u00a0lime flavor electricity to it.” Ampelos Cellars’ home on the rolling Santa Rita Hills has what some describe as “the perfect\u00a0recipe of sunlight, cool breezes and rich clay soil that yields life to organically grown grapes.” The wine is a blend of Syrah with a hint of lime and dollop of Riesling and Grenache.<\/p>\n

One Wine Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Winery Ros\u00e9\u00a0<\/b>has what Pfeiffer describes as “a little bit more of that traditional watermelon under-ripe strawberry character that is easy to drink and is remarkably versatile for pairing with a variety of foods.” It includes 48% Valdeguie, 46% Grenache and Pinot Noir that is barrel-fermented and aged before bottling.<\/p>\n

Both were delicious, and under $20 a bottle to boot!<\/p>\n

All of the One Wine labels are exclusive to Whole Foods in the Southern Pacific region\u2014so that’s from Santa Barbara to San Diego\u2014says Whole Foods Market marketing supervisor Rae van Seenus.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been bringing these wines down to the LA region and making sure that our winemakers and our business partners are getting exposure throughout Los Angeles, and that’s been a really fun win-win project for us,”\u00a0Pfeiffer says.<\/p>\n

In addition to the One Wine exclusives, the Whole Foods\u00a0Ros\u00e9 Garden also has more than a dozen other ros\u00e9 blends, including wines from local producers\u00a0Tercero<\/a>, Beckmen<\/a> and Dragonette Cellars<\/a>. (As a side note, I tasted the Dragonette Cellars 2012 Ros\u00e9,\u00a0Happy Canyon\u00a0at last weekend’s Taste of the Nation<\/a>\u00a0and it was lovely, and definitely put a bloom in my cheeks.)<\/p>\n

I don’t know about you, but I’m blushing with excitement about all of these pretty pink possibilities.<\/p>\n

Cheers!<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more cocktail corner columns.<\/p>\n

\"Leslie<\/a>

Leslie Dinaberg<\/p><\/div>\n

When she\u2019s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes<\/i> mag<\/i>azine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a \u201cgoal-oriented drinker.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Originally published in Santa Barbara SEASONS<\/a> on May 24, 2013.<\/p>\n

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