Yesterday was National Rosé Day.
You can see from the pic above that we celebrated appropriately. North Americans are slowly starting to appreciate a nice Rosé done in the true style - black-skinned grapes are crushed and the skins are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for a short period, typically one to three days. The longer the skin contact the more intense the colour of the final wine.
The wines should be dry and crisp making them perfect for a summer's day.
Unfortunately rosé wine got a bad reputation in the new world thanks to those horrid white zinfandel and blush wines from California. These wines were kool aid sweet. Made from blending white and red they became incredibly popular in the 80s and 90s but then soon went out of favour. I am sure many people remember those when offered a glass of rosé and turn up their nose. Of course, this just means more for ME!
Rosés have become quite popular in Canada. It used to be that when I went wine tasting in Niagara there was one winery which had a delicious rosé on offer. Now it is rare to find one that does NOT.
In the background of this picture are the last of the peonies from the garden. I have told the story before of how these flowers grow from rot stock that has been in the family for generations. . . more than 200 years actually. I'm not prone to sentiment now the tug of family ties however every year I breathe a sigh of relief when the peony shoots start to poke from the soil in the spring showing that they have survived another Canadian winter.
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