Week Three - Life Through Rosado Colored Glasses

If I had share just one thing I have learned in the past few weeks of this project it would be that if you want lots of choices and aren't flush with cash you should head to the Spanish section of your wine store. Sure there are good things coming out of South America, South Africa and elsewhere around the world; but Spain is putting out a lot of good wine at the $10 price point. With guidance from some wine clerks at my local wine store I started doing some exploration of Spanish wines and bought a pair of reds and a pair of roses (or Spanish rosad0 wines). All four are from the same region in the northeast of Spain. Their Denominacion de Origen (DO) is Calatayud, a small region near the better known Rioja. I learned that the DO is an official classification system used for wines in Spain but also applies to fine foods, such as olive oil.

This week was full of ups and downs for us after attending an unexpected family funeral early in the week and continuing to muddle through unseasonably cold and rainy weather that was no good for the spirits. However, on Friday afternoon the weather turned sunny and near 80 degrees; something that felt like an unexplainable gift. We made an impromptu trip to Target and bought chairs and a table for the front porch of our relatively new house to celebrate the coming of nice weather. We enjoyed the remains of last week's wines of Friday evening with some cheese. On Saturday, we ran in a road race in the morning, I mowed the lawn and then settled in to open up two bottles. The two rosados were already chilled and seemed like the perfect fit. We opened the two noted below and enjoyed a glass of each on the porch before heading to dinner with some work friends.

The first wine that I tasted was the 2007 Tres Ojos Rosado. It is a blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes. It was fruity and had some sweetness to it, but was perfect for a warm afternoon. The strawberry really comes through but isn't overpowering and we're looking forward to enjoying it with a few meals this week. Kysela Pere et Fils website has some great information on the region and this particular winemaker, you can check out their link at: http://www.kysela.com/spain/tresojos.htm

The Bottle: 2007 Tres Ojos Rosado

Price: $8.99

Would I Buy This Wine Again: I would. Too many people ignore rose wines in favor of reds and whites. They can be a great pairing with foods and this one is a real value.

The second wine I picked up was the 2007 Cruz de Piedra Garnacha Rosado. I chose this simply because it was also a rose from the Calatayud DO. Matt tasted this one first and then the Tres Ojos second. I think he put it best in saying that the Tres Ojos is sweet like cake but the Cruz de Piedra was sweet like icing. Too much so for me. The difference is that this wine is 100% Garnacha and didn't have the Tempranillo to add the slightly more austere quality that the Tres Ojos had. This was also fruity and tasting notes describe almost identically to the Tres Ojos (raspberry and strawberry notes). One intersting suprise on this wine was the synthetic cork - it's bright pink!

The Bottle: 2007 Cruz de Piedra Garnach Rosado

Price: $6.99
Would I Buy This Wine Again: I don't think so, especially if I had to choose between this and the Tres Ojos. This one is a little one dimensional.