foodwineclick

Rosé in the Winter
Are you a rosé all year person? We love drinking rosé all summer long here in Minnesota, but we typically finish the rosé by Labor Day. As the weather turns colder, we break out the big red wines that have been biding their time since the spring. Still, we enjoy an occasional bottle of rosé, perhaps to remind us on those long, cold winter nights that spring will indeed come. Someday!

(click on either photo for full-size versions)

Bon Appetit’s Chicken and Rice Meatballs with Hummus photo courtesy of bonappetit.com

Jeff’s version, with wine of course!

Bon Appetit “Healthyish”
We had fun with several dishes from the recent Bon Appetit “Healthyish” issue. I like to pit my food photography skills against those of the well know magazine. How did I do this month? Of course, my dishes also feature a wine!

Provence is definitely my go-to when it comes rosé and the Berne “Inspiration” was very nice

Chateau de Berne from the Importer

“Nestled in the hills of Provence, vines have been grown on the Château grounds since Roman times. Situated on the Aurelian Way, a Roman road formerly linking Italy and Spain, the vineyard was also a trading post for wines. Sheltered by acres of pine forests and lavender fields and enjoying over 3000 hours of sunshine a year, our grapes enjoy the cooler Provence nights which slows their ripening and helps produce perfect range Provencal rosé.

Chateau de Berne’s limestone terroir provides a special freshness and acidity to this Provence Rosé which is made with Grenache (50%) Cinsault (30%) and Syrah (20%). Rich and full of intense fruit flavors, it also has a tangy pepper note and ends with a bright, crisp finish.”

Disclosure: the wine in this post was provided as a media sample. All opinions expressed are mine.

Chateau de Berne “Inspiration” Côtes de Provence Rosé 2018 (sample, 19.50€ SRP, or online here) 12.5%
Eye: Clear, pale orange
Nose: Clean, medium intensity aromas of persimmon, underripe apricot, strawberries. Fresh bit of salt air and crushed limestone.
Mouth: Dry, medium intensity flavors. Fruit flavors follow the nose with persimmon, apricot, strawberry with saline and minerals. The mouthfeel is bone dry with just a touch of bitterness in with the underripe fruit. High acidity, round texture with medium body, low tannins (but not zero) medium alcohol and a medium finish.
Conclusion: Very good quality wine, shows exactly what one expects from Provençal rosé. Refreshing and dry with just a bit of richness from the skin contact. Enjoy this wine’s bright personality now, not suitable for aging.

An easy recipe, you’ll definitely want to make the salad as well, it’s key to complete the overall dish.

Bon Appetit Chicken and Rice Meatballs with Hummus
The Bon Appetit recipe is located here. It’s an easy recipe and you can make lots of meatballs to freeze for future quick meals, just add hummus and the salad. Bonus: the recipe is gluten-free, so this might be a good recipe to keep around for those times you have gluten sensitive guests coming to dinner. And maybe hold back a couple bottles of rosé for winter nights when you need a glimpse of spring!