Barbecue Rose

I read DrDebs article on summer barbecue wines. It's got some good, general suggestions for wines to pair with typical barbecue dishes.

One of her suggestions is Rose. Now I'll freely admit I don't drink much rose as I find most of them bland and sweet, and not much better than white Zinfandel. But recently I've tasted a few that were more interesting.

Alfaro Family have a very nice Rose of Pinot Noir. Nice fruit flavours with good acidity; not sweet at all. Goes for about $15

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard makes a Grenache Rose from McDowell Valley. Again it's completely dry and has interesting flavours of raspberry. Good value at $12, but Jeff just makes a couple of barrels so it's only available from the winery.

Bonny Doon makes an excellent Vin Gris de Cigare. It's typically a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache Blanc and is a lovely light, floral summer wine. It's made in large quantities and is widely distributed, so should be available in most states. It usually costs under $12; I've seen it as low as $9.

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