Winter Rosé Wonderland

I’d known the wisdom of Rosé Is More Than Sweet Plonk. I’d known I enjoyed rosé. But the moment I realized I was head over heels, unimpeachably (rosé never did me favors under my desk or got cozy with Ukraine or had an anything-gate) til death do us part IN LOVE with rosé was in winter. Okay it was Los Angeles winter, so maybe 40 degrees but cold enough to have my furry leopard coat on. I took in dreamboat of a Tavel and realized rosé was going to be a lifelong commitment. A rosé can warm you and also chill you so hard you’re hot. And at a holiday party, you may be a hot number in black satin filling the winter night with your warm vibe so hey! Why not spill some rosé? Also recommended in cold climes: a vodka martini with ample vermouth garnished with a lemon peel. Counter intuitively that’s a GREAT freezing cold winter drink. That or one of these rosés is gonna keep you warm. We all deserve rosé AROUND THE SUN. Pink knows nor gender nor season and I am here to prove it. #RoséAllYear Winter shower time rosé at the end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TAVEL OVER ALL The ride or die. The rosé that made me a true blue pink girl. They are a deep passionate pink. Full and thicker but always have a strong mineral current to keep you guessing. Year after year I will forever most love over all Chateau de Triquevedel . Any vintage, any day. The best forever and ever. PROVENCE Let us now go to the south of France and work our way up. Up being north in our pole-centric world. I typically assume a Provençal pink will be pale and, well, not my favorite. Exuding my bougie lover [Chateau Miraval](https://delectable.com/categories/chateau-miraval ) —but she’s for when I need a grocery store rosé. There are more options. 2018 Commanderie de Peyrassol Rosé Shockingly good in cooler weather. It is lighter on color but heavier on flavor but crisp as a snowflake. It has more oooomph than your standard pale rosé. BANDOL Bandol is in Provence, true, but it is a thing all its own. Grapes grow upon terraces in slopes called “restanques” and if that ain’t hot goss I don’t know what is. Mourvedre is the name of the game here, with grapes like Cinsault, Grenache and Carignan playing parts too. The heat, the dark fruit and earthy nature of Mourvedre create that Bandol bite. Yes, yes Domaine Tempier is classic but also consider: 2017 Domaine la Suffrene Bandol Rosé A coppery salmon pink. Smells like fresh red plums, the inside of a nautilus, and pink peppercorn. Tastes similar with an added electric current running through lush velvet. Very into it. BEAUJOLAIS We do associate winter with a certain loved/reviled wine—the Beaujolais Nouveau. And indeed Duboeuf makes a rosé version of it I must confess I actually enjoy. But that will fade fast. For lasting power look to: 2018 Chateau Thivin Beaujolais-Villages Rosé This texture nabbed me and the taste followed. Like the time I put on cashmere socks. Except I never tasted the socks. But the color…Silky as can be and it makes me think of green leaves enveloping some sort of raspberry jam and it is a spring morning at your friends’ house. Supple and bending foreshadowing a long convivial day. NOW TO SPAIN : ROSADO! 2017 Albero Bobal Rosé I don’t normally go to Trader Joe’s but when I do…well I’d go for this. Damn this is max winter rosé. Full and screaming “I grew up somewhere HOT baby!” Fruits stirred over an all-natural flame (called the “Sun”) mixed with stone fruit and happy acid. It’s a good trip. ETNA , BABY Volcanic magic can make good wines. As does Sicily. On its volcano. 2018 Pietradolce Etna Rosato The mineral nerve under the peach streets paved with flowers and flagged with dragonfruit. Starfruit lights up this night. It has such a course of energy driving through it. It has that je ne sais quoi. CALIFORNIA Home of the Sutter Home. Which is more a winter rosé than the pale dry rosés methinks. But we will look for something we can cherish. 2018 Bedrock Wine Company “Ode to Lulu” Rosé Medium salmon color. Floral. Underripe tropical stank. Much fun. Mostly Mourvedre! So let us look at the Bandol. Just to compare. Similar fruits. Less electricity. More bougie. Like if the Bandol was an asymmetric slip dress this has one strap, sure, but also a sash and maybe some frills or a petticoat. You’ll wear it all night. Medium in body but red berries, papaya, less-than-ripe white peaches and chilly wet stones make a statement. Oh! And then after drinking it I went searching more the technical information and discovered it is a “love letter to Bandol”. Proper. 2018 Long Meadow Ranch Rosé of Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Funny, most of these have been warm climate wines but this came from a year cooler and more subdued but maybe that proves my “nothing like an ice cold martini in winter point”. It is elegantly pale and pretty, it smells of medium underripe white peach, pears, and raspberries all friendly flying over dark skipping pebbles into your palate hitting you with high, so silky a bod you wonder if you can wear it to bed and geez, there is a spiciness, almost an oily fleshiness to it that makes you wonder if one or two of the olives they grow on the property found its way into this 100 percent Pinot Noir delight. FINALLY, BUBBLES! Gruet Méthode Champenoise Brut Rosé Why a winter sparkler? Because tis so ripe but also tis so crisp. Perhaps a result of a French winemaker doing their magic in…New Mexico?! Go fig. It’s fab. All Pinot Noir. The fruit on this YELLS winter berries and it has the acid sharpness against the cruel cold winter yet the ripe OH DID I SAY RIPE red fruit to spice things up. Love it. You should too. FIN Okay, what is my shower winter rosé? Tis easy and obvious. It is Chateau de Trinquevedel. Because bathing is a special activity reserved for lifetime loves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Want to read more from Ellen? Check out her recent articles: Winter Comes: Solstice Libations Super Natural: RAW WINE More Than Green Grapes Ellen in LalaLand Take One: Nighttime at Wally’s Wine Wine is Virgo, Virgo Wine You can also listen to Ellen's podcast with Shaughn Buchholz, The Wine Situation here . Check out her recent transcripts of the Final Five questions: Wine Situation Final Five! With Dana Farner Wine Situation Final Five! With Caroline Liem