I like surprises, especially ones involving wine or food.
A few weeks ago two cans of wine were sent to me, Rosé spritzer to be more specific. It’s not that the cans had me circumspect; I have enjoyed lots of wines packed in metal, and will do so in the future.
No, what was bothering me was that it was Rosé lemonade. I knew it would be too tart, too sweet. Even though my palate is wide open, tart is not my friend. I put the cans in the refrigerator to chill, having decided to open one the following afternoon.
The next day dawned, I made a few soft-boiled eggs, served them over some naan, and got on a Zoom virtual tasting. On my desk was a postcard from the couple who had shipped the Rosé lemonade to me, and I made a mental note to sample it around 3:00 that afternoon.
When the time came, I retrieved a stem from the shelf and pulled a can of Roseade — that is its official name — from the refrigerator. I poured it in the glass, and admired its color. (Click here for all the details.)
Life is full of surprises …
It looked good, a salmony pinkish hue that made me want to drink it.
I did, and I liked it. Not tart at all. And the sweetness? Well, forget about that, because the product is balanced, in a wonderful way. I would drink this, happily, poolside, or at a picnic in the park, or on a sunny afternoon in the apartment, reading.
Here’s the background: Lee Smallman’s family, in Moorooduc, Victoria, Australia, had too much Rosé on its hands, and needed to sell it. Smallman began experimenting with coolers, and lemonade stuck. Carbonation was added to the mix, and Roseade was born.
Karl Ziegler and Victoria Ash are the American arm of Roseade; Smallman began following Ziegler on Instagram, and the trio have teamed up to bring the product to America.
Warmer weather is here, in most places in the Unites States, and I recommend that you consider adding these cans to your drinking lineup.
What’s in your glass today? Here in downtown Los Angeles, it’s Rosé. Specifically, the 2020 Raeburn Russian River Valley Rosé, which I received recently from the winery’s marketing and PR team. It’s fresh, lively, and as crisp as a perfect Granny Smith apple.
It’s also 74 percent Pinot Noir, 22 percent Zinfandel, and 4 percent Grenache, all sourced from the RRV, and it has a suggested retail price of $19.99.
The Raeburn is a beautiful pale pink in color — soak a few strawberries in water for a day, then remove them from the liquid. The resulting hue is close to what you get with this Rosé. Aromas of strawberry and rose petal, the latter delicate. You’ll appreciate the ripe berry and melon flavors, and if you prefer your Rosé a touch dry, this one should appeal. Its acidity is more than ample.
Fruit was harvested in late August, and the juice rested on its lees before fermentation in stainless steel. Production was 9,000 cases, and the alcohol is listed as 13.5 percent.
If you want to pair this wine with food, a chicken salad (mayonnaise, chipotle pepper, grapes, and shallots) was excellent with it, and mild saucisson would also be a great fit.
Excellent choice …
Speaking of Raeburn, back in November of 2020 I had the good fortune of being gifted a container of fresh Sonoma Dungeness crab and a bottle of Raeburn Chardonnay (2019 Russian River Valley), the idea being to prepare the crab and pair it with the wine. We did, and I think you would love doing the same.
I made crab cakes, and Angela plated them. It was our Diwali celebration.
The following day, I used the remainder of the crab meat (and some Italian sausage) for a pasta dish … and the Chardonnay drank well with both meals. It, too, has a suggested price of $19.99, and it’s well worth that amount of cash. You get a wine that drinks as if it should have cost you more, a not-very-buttery/creamy (in a great way) wine whose body and finish are impressive.
I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
Kathleen Inman. Whenever I hear that name my mind immediately goes to France. Inman makes wine in Sonoma County as the owner of Inman Family Wines, but the story behind her Endless Crush Rosé captivated me when I first heard it, and since I love Provence …
I don’t know why I waited so long to feature Inman in Wine Talk, because she is a great conversationalist — a recent Zoom tasting confirmed my initial impression, which I made based on quotes, articles, and conversations with others. Her laugh rang through, and when I heard it during the virtual tasting it was uncannily similar to the one I heard in my head when reading descriptions of Inman.
Inman loves Rosé, and she loves Champagne, and her way with Pinot Noir makes me happy. She studied French literature in college, which is another reason I look forward to meeting her (Baudelaire, Rimbaud … what’s not to like?).
Oh yes, she farms the Olivet Grange Vineyard, from which comes some fine Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris fruit.
Memories of Provence …
If you are seeking a new Rosé to add to your list, order some Endless Crush. During our tasting, I sampled Inman’s 2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Special Blend. I loved it. Complex, elegant, wonderful acidity, and a fascinating fruit makeup (Olivet Grange, Sexton Road Ranch, and Vine Hill). This wine grandly represents Inman’s approach to her craft.
Let’s get to her Wine Talk.
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. How about a food pairing for each one?
Next, 2019 Crocker & Starr Sauvignon Blanc Crocker Estate. Although it’s a little heavier in alcohol than past vintages, I have been drinking this recently. Crocker & Starr is the only wine club I belong to. I paired it recently with a caponata using eggplants and tomatoes from my garden. Purchased from the winery, $40
2015 Inman Family Extra Brut Luxe Cuvée, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that spent years on the yeast. It’s currently a favorite of my husband’s, Simon, and is $78 (available from the winery only).
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
KI: 2004 Krug Clos du Mesnil would be my choice. I had a bottle of this last year for my birthday, and it was very delicious. Clos du Mesnil, a tiny, walled vineyard, is a little gem. Krug, my favorite Champagne house, makes from it a single-vineyard, single-vintage, single-varietal sparkling wine that has mouthwatering Chardonnay fruit, crystalline acidity, and such a sense of place. This wine inspired me in making my sparkling wines; although they are made from Pinot Noir from the Inman Family OGV Estate vineyard, I kept the structure single-vineyard, single-vintage, and single-varietal, inspired by the Krug wines I love.
Clos du Mesnil: Do not tear down this wall.
Kathleen Inman with some Pinot Noir.
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
KI: I have to be really predictable here: It is Pinot Noir that I am most passionate about. I love it in all of its guises: rich and redolent in ripe fruit, elegant and savory with texture like silk satin, made into Rosés, made into sparkling wines … all the Pinots!
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
KI: We tend to buy vintage port for birth years since it can cellar for much longer than 10 years, but of course, not every year is a vintage year. Of my own wines, the OGV Estate Pinot Noirs really come into their own after 10 years. I would recommend the 2017 vintage. It is elegant, and each time I taste it, it has a subtle, haunting character that is more beguiling as the months pass. I would love to have this in 2027 with a seared duck breast with lentils and sautéed spinach.
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle?
KI: COVID-19 has made us very solitary homebodies these days. However, in pre-pandemic days, Corkage, in Bath, Somerset, UK was our favorite place to enjoy wine by the glass or the bottle with small plates. We have been going there often for some years. A fantastic list. I do miss being able to travel.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
KI: On the business side, I think wine consumers should keep in mind that the best way to support small wineries is to buy from them directly. Distributors and retailers all make more money than the winery when a consumer purchases at a store. About 50-60 percent of the price of that bottle is all the winery gets — and from that they have to pay the taxes as well as the production costs. As often as you can, support wineries by buying direct.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
KI: My “wine eureka moment” that led to my passion for wine — as a consumer and later as a maker — was probably when I did a wine-tasting class offered by a local retailer when I was at UC Santa Barbara. I was fascinated by how the same grape grown in different places could result in wines that tasted so different, and then grapes grown in the same place but made by different people into wine were also different. Add in vintage differences and the variations were endlessly fascinating. Pinot Noir and Riesling were my first wine loves, but when I discovered Champagne … wow!
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature or a film?
KI: Can I give two? Having studied a lot of French literature at university, I am a fan of the French Symbolist poets, and Baudelaire’s “L’âme du vin” (“The Soul of Wine”) is a favorite, but I would be remiss if I did not mention my friend Regine Rousseau, who, besides being a wine entrepreneur (Shall We Wine is her business), is a poet. Her recently published book — “Searching for Cloves and Lilies: The Wine Edition” — pairs her poems with wines, including one paired with my Endless Crush Rosé of Pinot Noir.
New York City, 1995. I had arrived a few months earlier to begin a new job with a newspaper, and was visiting restaurants and bars that had been on my list for a long while. Sign of the Dove. La Grenouille. Elaine’s. Le Veau d’Or. McSorley’s. So many more, some long gone, others still thriving, pleasing guests night after night, attracting people from around the world to the streets and avenues of New York. That summer, I participated in NYC Restaurant Week; we made a few reservations at select places, and had (mostly) good experiences. It was a pleasure to sit and watch out-of-towners eat — I had already become a New Yorker, at least in my heart and mentality — and it felt good. The tables were ours. The latest version of NYC Restaurant Week runs through August 18, giving you 12 more days to pay $29 for lunch or $42 for dinner at places including Porsena, Hearth, Lupa, and ABC Kitchen. If you can, go.
La Grenouille, around since 1962.
Houston Restaurant Weeks (HRW) is also upon us, and it features 277 establishments giving a portion of their proceeds from special menus ($45 dinner, $20 lunch, with some exceptions) to the Houston Food Bank to help feed the hungry. I’ve tasted from some of the offerings, and will surely get to more, and encourage everyone to make some reservations. Go to a place you might not otherwise. Hunger is no laughing matter, and Houston is full of people who don’t know where their next meal will come from. Do some good, have some fun, and tip well.
When you’re out and about during HRW, you’ll be wanting some wine to pair with your meals. Why not make it a full evening and have a glass of Rosé as an apéritif? Stoller Family Estate has produced one that I like (click here to read about it), but the Pink Universe is large, so you’ll have no difficulties choosing a good bottle. In addition, many of the restaurants participating in HRW have selected wines they think pair well with their menus, an easy opportunity for you to taste something new.
Tomatoes and Wagyu done well
Speaking of new, a dish was added to the menu at Tony’s last week, and it’s something you’ll want. The Carpaccio di Pomodoro is tomato and Wagyu heaven, and I featured it in a piece for PaperCity on my (current) Dream Team of dishes in Houston. You can read about it here. (There’s also some great tacos and pasta on my team.)
For those of you wanting a hearty meal at home, I offer Chicken Paprikash. I cooked it on Sunday, and based it on the recipe featured by Sam Sifton in The Times. Use a combination of sweet and hot smoked paprika, and make sure to go with bone-in chicken. Cooking it is simple — you’ll have to brown the chicken in a Dutch oven for a few minutes — and when the smokiness of the paprika meets the sour cream, your evening will be set. Pair your Paprikash with a bottle of this Pinot Noir and a salad of mixed greens, and the picture is complete.
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