Drink Pink / WBW #62: A Grape By Any Other Name (Artazuri Rosado)

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image from farm3.static.flickr.com “I’ll just finish the wine. It’s not a problem.”

That was me, last night. But we’ll get back to that in a minute.

It’s time for the monthly wine blogging activity Wine Blogging Wednesday. I’ve decided to mix it in with my own current initiative to Drink Pink.

The theme for this month’s WBW outing, hosted by Dale Cruse, is a grape by any other name. You see, grapes are the same the world over, but they have a lot of different names – often for the same grape. For instance, Primitivo and Zinfandel, Syrah and Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Fume Blanc, and so forth.

I happened to have a Spanish grenache sitting here for Drink Pink, and it happens to be labeled as a garnacha, so we’re in business.

Grenache, also called Garnacha, is one of the most widely planted red grape varietials, and is the most widely planted grape in Spain. Grenache is often found in Southern Rhône wines, which explains my fondness for it. I do love my Rhône. In fact, Grenache is often at least 80% of the blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Artazuri Rosado of Garnacha 2008, Bodegas Y Artazu, Navarra region
$10.99, Water Tower Fine Wines

image from farm4.static.flickr.com
The Artazuri rosé has this amazing bright color. It’s not really captured in the above photo, but it’s sort of the pink of my pinkest Playgirl Floribunda roses I planted outside our house, or the pinkest hibiscus flower. It’s pretty darn close to red, while still retaining all it’s pinkness.

On the nose there is a lot of flower and mineral, partnered by raspberry. Kevin commented that it was reminiscent of homemade raspberry pancake syrup.

It’s not a hefty rosé. Instead, it’s light and airy, calling out to be paired with seafood on a hot and sunny day. It’s filled with raspberries and some cherry and it goes down fast. Really fast. Kevin and I rarely finish an entire bottle of wine on the first night anymore, but I handily polished this one off last night (thus the quote at the top). As for Kevin? He had a glass or so, and he admitted it was good. But it wasn’t his kind of wine – it didn’t tap into his inner pink as our previous rosé had. He likes his pink wines to be less light and more heavy.

Our ratings:
Michelle Kevin

Thanks to Dale for hosting this month’s adventure!

Posted by Michelle at 10:41 am in Drink Pink! (BCRF), WBW | Permalink | Comments (4)

4 Responses to “Drink Pink / WBW #62: A Grape By Any Other Name (Artazuri Rosado)”

Beth Scott says:

October 15, 2009 at 2:34 am

Thanks for sharing the Artazuri Rosado of Garnacha 2008, Bodegas Y Artazu, Navarra region reviews. I enjoyed wine with your blog and put this bottle to test as I am crazy about it. http://www.colonialgifts.co.uk
sc mls listings says:

June 24, 2010 at 10:11 pm

Aunt Maggies Honey Lemonade Recipe: 1/2 gallon warm water, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice. Just mix it all with your hands (their warmth will disolve the honey and sugar) and pour mixture into a gallon container filled 3/4 with ice. You can experiment with different style honeys for more unique blends.
Dale Cruse says:

July 20, 2011 at 2:27 pm

Jim, I wanted you to know the link to my wrapup of WBW62 has changed. It can now be found at: http://drinksareonme.net/post/7850281656/wine-blogging-wednesday-62-a-grape-by-any-other-name & I’d appreciate it if you’d consider updating your link. I’d also be thrilled if you’d consider adding me to your Blogroll. Thanks!
Dale Cruse says:

July 20, 2011 at 2:28 pm

See, that’s what I get for copying & pasting. Your name is obviously not Jim, it’s Michelle. I apologize for that! Sorry!