Modesto wine columnist on cool selections for hot August nights
Chilled roses and lightly chilled Pinot Noirs, Beaujolais or Zinfandels are our go-to summer red wines. Heavy alcoholic and big tannic wines stay put in the wine cave. We lightly chill all our red wines. Our house temperature is set at 78 degrees. Our wine is set at 70 and we like to drink our reds at 60. Just a little fridge time (20 minutes) before dinner will do it. If the meal is ready too soon, like magic, the Ice-Cube-Fairy appears.
Here are three very cool roses from the Sunset International Wine Competition. The Best of Show Rose, also the Best of Class and Double Gold Medal winner with 98 points, was the 2020 Roaming Dog Cabernet Sauvignon Rose Washington. It’s made by the Aquilini Beverage Group who also made the 2019 Dixie and Bass Rose I mentioned in my last column. The SRP is $15. The 2020 Lange Twins Family Winery and Vineyards Aglianico Rose scored 97 points and won a Double Gold Medal. The SRP is $22 and it is just up the road in Lodi. The Trinchero Family Estates 2020 SEAGLASS Rose from Monterey County won a Double Gold Medal and scored a 95. The SRP is $12 and it is usually under $10 in most markets .
More cool wines
I wanted to buy more of the 2019 Dixie & Bass Rose but couldn’t find it. The Turlock and Merced Grocery Outlets were completely sold out. I did find the French 2020 La Vieille Ferme Rose at Raley’s for just $5.99. It’s now my current house pinkie. I wrote about the Red Blend Portugal by Casa Santos Lima (the one with the pretty label) months ago from the Grocery Outlet. Costco now carries it and it is sale priced at $4.49. We recently hosted a party of 30 and served Mexican food. We iced down this red and it was the beverage of choice.
What’s on our table
The 2017 Silent Oak Red Blend from Portugal is this week’s steal. It is full bodied, with black fruits, soft tannins, 13.5% alcohol and with a chill, a perfect Monday wine. It is $4.95 at the Grocery Outlet. The deal is the 2019 Castle Rock Winery Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Reserve at Trader Joe’s. It has plum, cherry and spice flavors with a long soft finish and is under $10. It’s also a Sunset Double Gold, 92 point winner. The splurge this week is the 2018 Limited Edition Hall of Fame Cabernet Sauvignon (SRP $150) produced by Charles Woodson’s Intercept Wines. Only 6,500 bottles are available, an homage to his 65 interceptions in his 18 years in the NFL. Purchase is only online, cwinterceptwines.com.
Put a chill on your reds. Cheers!
Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.