And now I give you, the top 10 wines of 2010:

At least for me, when it comes to summertime, the rose wine jumps right up to the top. Along with those crisp whites (hello New Zealand), the cool and refreshingness of  a rose is hard to beat. And when wine tasting in a region where the summer temps are hovering in the 90s, something cold is almost always something good.

Such was the case with the Hard Row to Hoe Shameless Hussy Rose, made from the Sangiovese grape. When describing this wine, I realized all of the bad Freudian slips that could easily be derived from such a tempting name. Without going all the way (sorry, no pun intended) into their history, the cliff notes go something like this: It’s based upon a brothel whereby the only mode of transportation to get there was by boat, or row boat, in the name’s case.

This rose is made for the summer. It’s crisp, refreshing, and loaded with bright berries, including strawberries and raspberries. The nose is beautiful with images of red berries dancing around your nose. It would go great with crab cakes (no, not those crabs) and cool brie cheese on a sunny afternoon.

As a Lake Chelan wine tasting virgin, this was a great wine to taste what Lake Chelan can produce, be it in a Rose. Overall Hard Row to Hoe’s wines were balanced with a comfortable amount of tannins and acid to them. And while the Syrah was the wine that won out to sip out on their covered balcony with misters running at full strength, the rose left one of the biggest, um, impressions in my mine. I now need to go was my… glass.

Cheers,
Haydn

—————————-
Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Appellation: Sonoma Coast, California
ALC: 14.2%
You can buy this wine at: fortrossvineyard.com
Retail price: $16
Haydn gives it: 89pts

I discovered this wine from a personal invitation from co-owner, Linda Schwartz. I was told by a friend that I had to try their Pinotage. I had had it in the past, and apparently said that I gave it less than a favorable oral review, so I was out to try it again and see what I thought of it. It was in the e-mail correspondance that I found out that she was pouring her wines down the street from me, and I ought to stop in and give it a swirl. I happily agreed to meet her and try a bottle or two.

I will get to the Pinotage in a later review, I promise, but that night one wine really stood out—the Rosé. I knew it was the shining star that night because when I surveyed what I wanted to try again, rosé was the first thing uttered out of my mouth.

On the nose, you’ll get the default strawberry components, but dig a bit deeper and you’re bound to get a bit of watermelon as well. Smelling this wine, images of fresh watermelons being picked right off of the vine came into vision. Just fresh, fresh watermelon.

The wine, made in a dryer style, is very silky to drink and lingers for a while after. I’d serve this wine knowing it is going to take a bit to finish. Call up a good friend you haven’t seen for a while, break out some cheese from Whole Foods and kick back on the balcony. Remember to put it on ice as this wine is served cold.

Overall, the wine is delightful with a great balance of fruit coming out on the palate as well as crispness in a bit of acidity. I wouldn’t cellar this one for more than the summer as it is ready to drink now, and summer is just round the corner.

——————————-
Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

For the most part, red wines are out. They’re just way too big. A Grenache or a California Pinot might be ok, but they are kind of the asterisk to the rule due to their overall lightness in nature. But hands down, I prefer a Riesling for a picnic. Here’s why.

At a picnic, and especially when the weather heats up, you want a refreshing wine, not one that makes you tipsy topsy after the first glass. Overall, Rieslings, especially German Rieslings, have an incredibly low alcohol content. Some can hit the 8-9% range, compared with some California Cabs hitting 14.8-15%! The sweetness or dryness of the wine will go with summertime picnic faire, from peaches to cole slaw.

Just like the world of Pinot spans from intense fruit to barnyard dirt, so does the Rieslings. Thankfully we have the German Government to help us out in determining the properties of the Riesling. The Germans disclose nearly everything about the wine on the label. Not just where it was sourced and how much alcohol is in it, but also the dryness, the time of harvest and much much more. The downside? It’s in German. The upside? It’s in German. Ok. So I’m kidding on the upside part (unless you took German in high school / college). This is where your wine buyer / wine master at your local wine merchant will help you out.

A sommelier / wine buyer will know all about Rieslings. Ask to see if they have any from the Alsace region (It was a French territory at one time, but the German’s decided to take it back). And any land that is even remotely close to French terrior (pronounced terr – waoir) is just begging for grapes (see Rioja, Spain for further proof).

If you are up wine tasting in Dry Creek, give Gopfrich Winery a call. Aside from producing Zins and Cabs, he imports Rieslings directly from Germany and is happy to have you taste the varying Rieslings. He is also invaluable in giving you a brief crash course on the labeling of the wine (make note, go there before drinking heftily).

Bring the Rosé to the picnic

To all those men out there, get over yourselves and buy a Rosé. You can still stay clear of the silly named “Fumé Blanc”, but at least get a handle on Rosés. They are hot these days and more and more wineries are producing them. For a picnic, I’d recommend a dryer rosé. The sweeter rosés have a bit too much residual sugar to work well with barbecued / potluck style food. Plus, you’ll impress your friends by letting them know it’s a dry wine and “You have to try this”.

Rosés generally range from $15 – $20, so you won’t have to break the bank for a wonderful outing. Once again, I’d consult your local wine buyer and see what he has to offer.

Below are a few wines I’d personally recommend:

Gopfrich Rosé & Rieslings (2007 Rosé Review)

Scheid Rosé

—————————-
Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Appalachian: Monterey
Alc: 14.4%
Haydn gives it: 86pts

Summer is right around the corner. It’s the time to dust off the picnic basket, find a park with a bit of light shade and uncork a Rosé. The rosé for me has been my answer to drinking a cool red wine in the summertime. With temps out here in Marin hitting 90-95 degrees in the summer, the chilled whites seem to get billing in addition the Rosé.

The rosé in the spotlight today is the Scheid Vineyards 2006 Rosé. This wine is plain and simple, with a great basket of strawberries in the palate, the nose and just about everywhere else. There is a sweetness to this one, so think about pairing it with a dryer or coarse cheese to balance it.

Aside from the strawberries, the rosé is a wonderful palate cleanser. While this wine comes in at 14.4% when it comes to alcohol content, which is fairly high for the rosé market (yet on par for California standards), the abundance of alcohol is light and at first I had this wine pegged at around 13.2 – 13.5%.

The rosé did its trick— it was opened on a warm spring time afternoon, sitting outside on the balcony with a great friend. I was also happy to see a screw top, as the past few wines have been corked.

The 2007 rosé by Scheid is made from Syrah grapes with a kick of Cab. The best part about this wine is 1) the alcohol content lowered to 13.4% (I tend to lean towards the lower alcohol content on a hot day, as you’re already losing hydration from the heat, and a high alcohol content furthers the feeling of intoxication) and 2) the price point of $16.

You can buy this wine directly from Scheid’s vineyard at: scheidvineyards.com

—————————-
Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

So it comes as little surprise (to me at least) that a rosé would compliment Valentine’s day like dark chocolate compliments Zinfandel.

The rosé I recommend for the ’09 Valentine’s Day is the Gopfrich Rosé, or Rosa as winemaker, owner, Ray Gopfrich calls it (means rosé in German). Ray makes his rosé in a more European fashion, with light and ripe strawberries on the nose and mid-palate. It finishes very smooth with almost no tannins.

The wine is made in a dry style so you won’t have any hints of sweetness here. No traces of any residual sugar in this wine (unlike many stereotypical rosés).

The Rosa would be a great wine to serve before dinner or during the mid-afternoon. A creamy cheese would further accentuate this luscious liquid due to its dryer nature.

The Rosa rolls in at $18, a great price point for this wine. If you are going to be at my book signing and release party (yes, I know this is a shameless self plug, but hey, it’s my blog), you can pick it up directly at Gopfrich winery which is about 10 minutes away from Quivira Winery (where the book signing is taking place). You can also order off of his website, http://www.gopfrich.com/order/. His winery is by appointment so if you are planning on picking up the Rosa in-person, a good idea would be to give the winery a call.

———-
And yes, I know the picture is of a Zinfandel, but it’s the only bottle shot I have of Gopfrich’s collection.