While U.S. wine labels get more complex, it appears that the French are simplifying theirs; go figure…

After trading emails with Sam over at Becks & Posh, I decided to reblog my entry for Wine Blogging Wednesday #9 themed on rosé or “pink” wines. It seems Sam’s day job is not leaving much time for podcast listening, so here are the CliffsNotes with a few timecode stamps to help her sort out the audio:

(0:00 – 0:37) Introduction, theme music and show kickoff, thanking Sam for hosting WBW this month and the theme of rosé wines. Rosé is the “Rodney Dangerfield of wines”; they get no respect. This is probably due to indifferent blends of red and white wines we have had being passed off as rosé, as well as the sticky, sweet white zinfandels we have been subjected to over the years. In fact, I have not had a proper rosé or pink wine in a few years, so this theme was an excellent chance to check out three dry rosé wines.

Before sharing my tasting notes, I spoke a bit about how rosé wines are made (1:16). The first method is to crush red grapes and macerate the must for only a few hours to impart only a small amount of the pigment to the wine. Then the winemaking process is followed the same as used to make white wine. For some unknown reason, I failed to mention that the French call this process, “vins gris”, even though my notes clearly state this fact. The second method is called, “saignée” or “bleeding”. This is where red wine is made, but a bit of the juice is drained off early in the winemaking process to concentrate the resulting red’s flavors. The bled juice is then made into rosé using the process followed to make whites.

Next (2:17), I commented about the proper temperature to serve rosé (50 - 54F, or 10 - 12C) and launched into my tasting notes:

Toad Hollow Vineyards, “Eye of the Toad”, Dry Pinot Noir Rose 2004 ($12) - Clear pink, beautiful strawberry/watermelon nose, strawberry/cherry fruit, bone dry, nice finish; serve a bit warmer than regular rose to fully reveal it’s aromas and flavors; I also like the whimsical, yellow plastic cork! Score: 8/10

Les Vignerons de Montblanc, Syrah Rose, Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thongue 2003 ($9) - Rose center with nice pink edges, watermelon candy nose, nice flavor intensity of light red berries, dry and refreshing; another plastic cork! Score: 8/10

Cuvee Catherine, Rose d’Anjou 2002 ($6) - Very light tawny red, light flowery nose, almost vegetal in flavor with bell pepper and cherry in a good way, off-dry, but not sweet, with a good dose of acidity; a bit bitter on the finish; drink ASAP as the wine is past it’s prime. The only cork in the bunch. Score: 7.5/10

(5:09) Best of tasting: Toad Hollow Vineyards, “Eye of the Toad”, Dry Pinot Noir Rose 2004

Best value: Les Vignerons de Montblanc, Syrah Rose, Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thongue 2003

(5:21 – 8:16) I then shared some final thoughts for regular Winecast listeners about sending in questions for an upcoming show, voting at Podcast Alley, Gmail and Yahoo! 360 invites and a poll I have open on my blog.

Thanks once again to Sam from Becks & Posh for the theme and her upcoming summary write-up this weekend. I hope this extended post helps save you a bit of time

Cheers!

Direct mp3 Download

If you caught the podcasting piece on Fox 9 this evening, you might be curious on what this whole podcasting thing is all about. For some additional background, click this link. If you want to listen to Winecast, just click the link in the right menu to play on the website (requires Flash) or download the free iPodder software that will automatically download each show for you. There is also more information about this on my subscribe page.

For listeners out of the viewing area, here is the transcript.

The US Treasury department will be reviewing wine labeling requirements again. Up for consideration are nutrition and more granular ingredient information presumably so South Beach dieters can be sure not to drink wine. Since there is already quite a bit of information required, I would suggest the government consider URL’s on back labels which would point to a government sponsored website where all the information would be available.

For me, I really don’t care how many carbs or how much protein is in my wine…

This weekend’s podcast is focused on the, “Big 3 Reds”: Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon presented in the “virtual tasting” format. I also try to match wine to a St. Patrick’s Day menu of corned beef and cabbage and announce a Minnesota wine tasting meetup on June 11th.

Wines tasted:

- Meridian Vineyards, Central Coast, Pinot Noir 2003 ($9)
- Columbia Crest, “Grand Estates”, Merlot 2001 ($12)
- Clos du Val, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 ($25)

Direct mp3 Download

Just received a good suggestion from a listener about having a Twin Cities wine tasting meetup at the Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings, MN on Saturday June 11 starting at 1:00 pm. I will be calling the winery this week to nail down the details, but at the very least I will be there to taste through their new releases and socialize with Winecast listeners. Hopefully, I will be able to do some soundseeing around the winery, an interview with the winemaker and a virtual tasting for the show.

If you are from the area and want to get together, mark your calendar and I’ll see you there. So I can get an idea of how many listeners will join me, please post a comment here if you will attend.

Thanks!

While we are waiting for the local Fox 9 piece to air, The Pioneer Press in St. Paul has run a short piece that mentions Winecast. Of note are two announcements:

- The Greater Midwest Podcaster Meetup (formally “PubCast”) is on for June 4th in Minneapolis. All regional, national, global and intergalactic podcasters are welcome

- PodcastMN.com has been launched. It’s an easy way for listeners to get all the podcasters in Minnesota in one feed.

The story also talks about preloaded iPodder software for PodcastMN. I have also made that available for Winecast on the right menu with just this show and Eat Feed, where I appear from time to time. Enjoy.

BTW, Garrick has also blogged on this subject over at First Crack.

In the latest wine marketing experiment, Beringer is launching White Lie Early Season Chardonnay, a low alcohol wine aimed at women. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not, but it should appeal to those who don’t like German Riesling for some odd reason

Sorry to all for the false alarm, but the podcasting story was pushed back due to some breaking news. As soon as I hear from the reporter, I will post an update here.

UPDATE: Just got an email from the reporter and the piece will air early next week. I will post as soon as it is slotted in the schedule.

For those listeners in the viewing area of KMSP Fox 9, the podcasting story featuring my son and me will air tonight at about 9:45 pm CDT. Don’t worry, mom and dad, the TiVo’s all set