Rose season is here!
At Napa, our wine choice at the end of the evening is a rather serious one. We sit down to unwind at the bar and we try and open up new wines because it gives us a chance as a group to discuss the wine and decide where the wine might fit with the menu. Is it a good value? Is it balanced? How should we describe it? At the end of the day, we try not to make it too geeky---after all it's just grape juice! This month is when we start to see a good portion of the rose released. Rose can be made from any grape that has red skin. Notice I didn't say a red grape? There's an exception to this with pinot gris/gio. Scarbolo produces a rose of pinot grigio and it's delicious. The pinot grigio grape is red in color but produces a white wine. With all Rose, the winemaker leaves the juice in contact with the skin for hours (such as Dom. Ott) or days with say a Santa Lucia pinot noir from Lucy Vineyards. This style of wine is crafted carefully and released in early summer to enjoy with salads, local beets (as seen in the picture) oysters, grilled vegetables, light blue cheeses, some sharp cheeses like manchego. The pairings depend on the level of tannin left in the wine and the amount of fruit. Rose can show itself bone dry to a slightly sweet style so it's not as easy to make a specific pairing example. What you can do is note the varietal that the wine is, such as rose of shiraz, rose of cabernet, rose of merlot and so on. This will help guide you in the right direction for pairings. Our favorite last night? A small family owned winery called, Gargiulo Vineyards. They make a meaty rose from Sangiovese in Napa called, Rosato di Sangiovese from the Money Road Ranch. 455 cases made. Gargiulo Vineyards is a 3,500 case family winery committed to handcrafting exceptional wines from two Oakville estate vineyards, Money Road Ranch and 575 OVX. Who is in their backyard? Screaming Eagle! To learn more go to http://www.gargiulovineyards.com/
To showcase these wines, all Rose on our Wine List are 50% off for the Month of May. Come experience the great food of Chef Taibe paired with a fresh, vibrant, strawberry scented Rose!
Have a nice Saturday and drink more rose!
Napa and Co. 75 Broad Street/ Stamford / CT / 06901
203-353-3319
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