By JACQUELINE CORRIGAN
Nothing says the beginning of summer more than rosé wines. Many countries make them. The most famous being from Italy , Portugal and France.
As we canʼt fly to any of these places right now we can, however, imagine ourselves there as we live in our own little Mediterranean corner of the world. How lucky are we to have the beautiful boardwalk and our much, more than ever, appreciated Lake Ontario!
With the hot weather recently we have shed our heavy winter clothes for lighter ones and so too our food and wines.
Rosés are that special in between wine that pair well with most dishes. They run the gamut of colours from pale onion skin to deep rose, hinting to the degree of the flavours within as well as the light or fullness of body. They range from dry to medium dry (as in white zinfandel and Mateus rosé), to crisp, fruity, tannic and sparkling.
Pair rosés with similar style food. Light food with a lighter wine so as to not overwhelm but compliment. I recently had a delicate French onion soup with layers of Provencal herbs and a lovely balance ratio of cheese ( most are too heavily laden in my opinion) and paired it with Cuvée Marie Justine Rosé, 100% Cabernet Franc from the Loire. Magnifique!
Think seafood. Seared salmon, lobster, brie or camembert cheese, think Bandol.
Raw or lightly cooked shellfish or grilled fish, goatʼs cheese, think Loire or Bardolino Chiaretto from Italy.
Think light salads with fresh fruit, grilled vegetables. Spicy food or some desserts, think white zinfandel or Mateus. (Yes I did say Mateus!) These two wines are also a good place to start if you are just new to the world of wine. Think French strawberry shortcake!
The LCBO has many rosé wines to choose from but you can also purchase from wine agents such as Wine Online Wine Online who carry products not sold at the liquor store and they deliver to your door.
Bandol Rosé by Domaine La Suffrene 2019 – $37.99 – 97 points Platinum Award – Best in Show – Decanter World Wine Awards 2019 for 2018 Vintage.
Legado del Moncayo Rosado by Isaac Fernandez Seleccion 2019 – $14.99. Ripe strawberry nose. Crisp and dry with concentrated red berries and stone fruit on the palate.
Wine Online also carries Cuvée Marie Justine from the Loire as mentioned above but may be out by the time of this column posting.
Our wonderful local restaurants such as Sauvignon Bistro https://www.sauvignonbistro.com/ and Velouté Bistro https://www.veloute.ca/ are open for pick up as is Mon K Patisserie https://www.monkpatisserie.ca/ with its beautiful desserts, quiches, baguettes. Let them do the cooking for you.
Don your berets, hang your patio lanterns on the front porch (thanks Kim Mitchell), get out your best picnic blanket and have lunch or dinner on your front lawn. Have your neighbours join in on their lawn all while social distancing.
Oh and donʼt forget to turn up the tunes with La Vie en Rose (life in pink) by Édith Piaf or Michael Bubléʼs version!
Life is good!
The next column will be All Things Canadian in advance of Canada Day.
Jacqueline Corrigan is a Certified Sommelier (graduate George Brown College Sommelier Program); a Member of the International Sommelier Guild; and a graduate WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust – Britain).
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