Wine of the Week!     

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2007   $14     

Some US winemakers like to take the traditional and make it distinctly American.  Like our wine of the week.  It’s  Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2007, a Rose´ that even sounds French!  It’s as pretty as a red sky at sunset. 

The wine is delightful.  You’ll find flavors of wild strawberry along with a crisply dry finish.
Its roots are in the great Rose´ wines of France’s Provence but with all the style of a Santa Cruz surfer!  You know, a bit edgy but still laid back and cool! 

Rose´  is made from draining off fresh juice from red wine grapes.  Bonny Doon uses Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault just like the French then adds a dash of white wine for richness and depth.  That’s the American part - complete with screwtop. 

About fourteen dollars, the Bonny Doon Vin Gris Rose´  is a timely mid-summer burst of sunshine in a bottle, and our wine of the week.

Pop the Cork… or twist that cap!

Wine on the Radio – August 1, 2008

Winemaker’s comments: Bonny Doon continues down the primrose path of insinuating a substantial dollop of white wine —principally Grenache Blanc — into their typical blend of red varieties. Though not a technique practiced widely in Vin Gris' spiritual homeland of Provence, the addition of rich white wine adds some incremental gravity and seriousness without jeopardizing the final blend's personal and electrochemical vivacity — a quality critical in the perfect aperitif, or if one wishes to wash down a Salade Niçoise under the hot sun of St. Tropez.

Just about 12% of this Vin Gris is composed of traditional white Rhône varieties which add a surprising richness and foundation to this wine. The balance derives from the varieties included in our Rhône blend, Le Cigare Volant, and our Central Coast Syrah. We obtain juice from these grapes via saigner, or “bleeding”, a modest volume of our freshly processed grenache, syrah, and cinsault. By bleeding a small amount of juice off our red musts, we concentrate the flavor and color in the red components. The juice which is bled off is delicately pale in color, though effusively perfumed of the fruit, floral and botanical essences of the grape from which it is extracted. There is no more sublimely delicious fermenting wine to taste than a clean rosé. Only as the wine approaches dryness do the savory and spicy elements so critical to tonal and spatial completeness of the wine appear. After assembling all of the lots selected for the wine, we will usually add a small dollop of additional red wine to bring the final blend into carmine compliance.

Past Recommendations, Picks, and Wines of the Week

Notes on our Wines of the Week, Recommendations, and Picks:

When you read our thoughts, please remember that you may think differently.  A particular wine may be your favorite and not on our list.  Well, don't stop buying it because of that.  In fact, you may want to email us and let us know about it. These are our opinions but our FIRST recommendation is to go by your own palate.

A couple of other thoughts . . . first, prices are approximate.  They'll vary.  Second, different vintages mean different grapes and different tastes so our recommendation for a 2000 Merlot may not hold for 2001.

And lastly, we remind you to drink responsibly!  Now, all that said, here is a summary of links to our suggestions.  Find one (or more) and pop the cork!

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