50 Shades of Rosé

        We think you all know the expression, "The Devil made me do it."  Well, this time, it was the rosé that finally made LC do it, join Chesebro wine club, that is.  The rosé was devilishly wonderful.

        With a touch of Granache, Syrah, Viognier and Albariño, the Chesebro 2012 Rosé is a  "true rosé," made by adding a little red wine to the white wine. The wine is bright, refreshing, of medium body, and a magnificent light pink blush color.   At only $15, it is a remarkable deal.  (And if you're a club member, which we both are now, it's only $12!)

        The two "Carmel Valley by the Glass" adventurers continued their exploration of valley rosés by moseying down the East End Wine Row to the Holman Ranch Winery tasting room. There we talked with Nick Elliott, one of the winery's owners, about their rosé, the 2011 Rosé of Pinot Noir.  Theirs is bolder, more acidic than the Chesebro rosé, yet good, light and crisp as well.  In fact, it won the 2013 First Blush Competition in San Francisco for Rosés from California.  Holman Ranch Winery also has their own dynamite peppery olive oil...for members only--yet another motivation to become a wine club member.

        We then continued our rosé exploration by visiting the Georis wine tasting garden, always one of our favorites on a beautiful sunny valley day.  There, we had the Georis Les Abeilles Rosé.  Another shade of pink, a light dry taste, a unique bottle shape, and just a great summer wine, at $24.00 a bottle (less for wine club members), $9.00 a glass, $5.00 during Happy Hour.  (If you haven't tried their Happy Hour, do.  Great appetizers, including their tasty pizza slices, and good wines at good prices in a delightful setting. Quintessential Carmel Valley.)

        Our final rosé of the day was at Will's Fargo restaurant.  It was a Bernardus Santa Lucia Highlands 2012 Saignee Rosé, made from Pinot Noir.  It was full, a ruby shade of rose, and very refreshing.  According to the Bernardus website, here's how it's made: "As the grapes are being crushed we bleed off a small percentage of the juice before it has a chance to absorb much color from the grape skins. For the juice that is left in the fermenter, this means a better juice to skin ratio resulting in a Pinot with more intense color and structure. The barely colored juice we obtain is then fermented to dryness providing us with a delicious, light and fruity rosé."

        We think "refreshing and beautiful" are the operative words when describing rosés. Try them.  They are just as pretty to look at as they are delicious to drink.  You can have some sent to you from the above wineries or explore what is available in your area.  Either way, they are the perfect accompaniment for light meals on these long warm summer days.

A New Wine Destination In Carmel Valley Village

         The Chesebro Vineyards Tasting Room just opened in Carmel Valley Village in what is becoming a cluster of wine tasting rooms at the east end of town.  Parsonage is the grandfather of the bunch.  And now there is Chesebro, Holman, Joyce, and soon Silvestri and Gallante. SO…if you want to experience a variety of wineries, this is the place for you. 

     In this particular blog, we want to focus on Chesebro wines.  Mark Chesebro has created quite a variety of wines at really good prices.  The day we visited the tasting room, Mark was there and, of course, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his wines, all of which are “grown, produced and bottled by our family; 8 wines for a total production of 2500 cases.”   

We started our tasting with a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc—very crisp, citrusy and refreshing, with what seemed like just a touch of sweetness at the finish.  Then we moved to what became one of our favorites and one that is rather unique for this valley. It’s a 2009 Vermentino, a white wine, from a grape that was originally grown in Liguria, Sardinia and Corsica.  LC, the resident Italian, couldn’t resist the Vermentino, especially at $16 a bottle.

Our next taste took us to another new white varietal for us, a 2008 Roussanne, a grape native to the Rhone Valley, but grown now, as well, in the estate vineyard in the Carmel Valley mountains.  According to Mark, this is a good cross-over wine, appealing to red wine drinkers as well as the white wine aficionados.  Chesebro also has a Chardonnay and some wonderful reds—a 2009 Pinot Noir and two Syrahs.

We finished our tasting with Chesebro’s 2009 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Dessert Wine which we think would also be wonderful with pears, nuts and/or cheese.  We bought a bottle, so we’ll let you know once we do our pairing.

In all, we really like what we tasted.  Mark Chesebro is quite a talented vintner, having studied at UC Davis, and worked at Bernardus for many years as their winemaker. He has also been a cheesemaker. 

The Chesebro Tasting Room is at 19 East Carmel Valley Road, Suite D, open from Friday through Monday, noon to 5. (831 659 2125).

We think you would really enjoy Chesebro wines.  To read about the variety Mark offers, check out their website at www.chesebrowines.com.