You Make Me Blush

It's the 3rd Sunday of the month, so you know what that means...The GrapeVine Tasting Club! This month we tasted rose wines. We did things a little different this time and tasted them all blind so that people would be able to give an honest assessment of the wines and not be turned off just by knowing the name of it. I also threw a little something into the mix that I didn't want people to know about until the end ;-)

Domaine de la Bergerie's Cremant de Loire was served as the guests arrived. A sparkling rose from France, this was the crowd's absolute favorite. Very light and fruity with bubbles, this is perfect for sipping this spring on the patio, and your picnic, or just because you feel like it.

Tegernseerhof Zweigelt (Austria)
I think all the flavors of the zweigelt are in the skins because very few were left over in this wine. Very light, like pastel pink in color, you had to really concentrate to discern flavors in this one. I was able to pull strawberry and lemon zest, but the crowd didn't know what was in the glass.

Jean Curial et Fils Macon Rose (France)
Made solely from the Pinot Noir grape, refreshing red fruit flavors of of cherries and raspberries were present on the palate.

J Mourat Fiefs Vendeens (France)
A blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Negrette came together like a fruit cup in my glass. Guests got flavors of strawberry, melon, grape, cherry. I hid a bottle of this take home.

Sutter Home White Zinfandel (CA)
I don't really think I need to say anything else about this :-)

Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon (South Africa)
Pretty full-bodied for a rose. The color was even a dark, magenta like pink. A bit of tannins on the palate but still a pleasant flavor of strawberries, red cherries and raspberries. Most weren't expecting a flavor this heavy from a rose.

Carafe WineMakers Ocean Breezin' (VA)
People actually thought I had thrown in a Boones Farm or Arbor Mist with this one! Very fruity on the palate, this wine is described as a raspberry white zinfandel.

We tasted 7 wines total, 6 having their identities hidden. And what did we find out?? That some people really do like White Zinfandel, they just won't drink it because of the stigma attached to it! I held up the 4th bottle and asked who liked it, a fair amount of hands went up. But when I pulled off the paper to reveal it's identity, hysterical! Someone gasped, people laughed...one lady said, 'I don't care what it is, I liked it' Well said! That is what it is really all about, drinking what you like. Who cares what the critics say or what your friends say, if you are spending your money, buy the wine you like to drink. I probably won't want a glass of that but hey, I know how to BYOB :-)