I love a nice dry Rose in the summertime and plan my next newspaper column on the topic. I have several in the wine rack I’m anxious to pop open and try. I also want to pick up a few more this summer.

One of those on the rack was Montes Cherub Rose’ of Syrah from Chile.

I’ve made a point on this blog not to go on too long about wines I don’t like. Take a look at the blog name. Yes, it’s Grape Sense – but, “A Glass Half Full.” Of course I don’t set out to buy bad wine or wine I don’t think I’ll like. I do try to be positive in what I write about various wines.

I can see how some people would like this wine. It is very fruity, a beautiful dark pink, and very easy to drink. I found it a bit too sweet and way too intense on the fruit.

You can find this wine in the $10-$14 price range in Indiana wine shops.

I enjoy a nice Syrah so was very taken at the thought of a 100 percent Syrah Rose’. But I found this one disappointing. If you like your wines of the “fruit bomb” nature, then you’ll like this one.

It’s just not for me!

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Summer is for lighter wines with just the right flavor profile.

I had the chance to buy some fresh King Salmon in Indianapolis this afternoon and picked up a nice pink piece of fish that I seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh lime, and dill!

Such a piece of fish just screams for a Sauvignon Blanc. I had bought a New Zealand (Marlborough region) Sauv Blanc – 2008 Fire Road – earlier this week for $13.99 and was anxious to try it.

The wine had a fruity nose of grapefruit and citrus. It was that lovely light straw yellow color and it had strong fruit flavor on the front end. It didn’t have a lot of “mineral” flavor but it had good acidity.

The wine felt good in my mouth with the fish and had a nice long finish. That was probably the wine’s strongest attribute – the long finish for you to match with that fish.

King Salmon on the grill, some fresh grean beans grilled with garlic, candy onions, salt and pepper, and a great New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc makes for a great Sunday night!

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Okay, this is a bit self-serving but cool.

I am a bit of a news junkie and regularly scan news websites throughout the day. My favorite news site is msnbc.com

The site provides a wide range of news including a “local news” category. You can type in your zip code and the site pulls headlines from a number of papers in your region of the state. For Crawfordsville, I’ve seen headlines from probably 15-20 papers.

So imagine my surprise Tuesday when I was scanning down the national headlines and saw “GRAPE SENSE” in the middle of the page. It seems the site had pulled my newspaper column from the Logansport Pharos-Tribune.

Logansport runs the column exclusively online. I was pretty happy to see “Grape Sense” on my favorite news site.

I’ll take any exposure I can get. I did a screen capture which I’ve included here.

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If you’re like me, sometimes you’ll pick up a bottle of wine out of sheer curiosity!

I remember being in Indy’s Cork & Cracker a few weeks back and was making some carefully considered choices. Then I saw something called “Fourplay” from Sicily.

It is an interesting blend, in equal parts, of four grapes I was totally unfamiliar with prior to picking up the 2004 Dievole wine. The blend is 25 percent each of: Frappato Nero, Nerello Cappuccio, Nebello Mascalese, and Nero D’Avola.

The bottle’s label says: “The Island of Sicily is in play with a field blend of four native grapes from the seashore of Pachino. The wine was $13.99 and 13 percent alcohol.

It is sort of a wine you don’t have to think much about. It had a typical dark fruit taste on the palate, a decent mid palate body, and some tannins on the finish. It was a nice little glass of wine. I reminded me of a Chianti.

I had it with pasta but think you could enjoy it with grilled meats as well.

It was a nice glass of wine. I might buy it again. The ratings I found were in the low 80s, probably about right. Nothing wrong with this wine, but nothing particularly memorable either.
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One of Oregon’s most renowned wineries is the hilltop, state-of-the-art, operation of Lynn Penner-Ash.

The incredible winery and tasting room sit atop a hill with beautiful views of the Willamette Valley. You must travel a long road up the side of a hill to get to the incredible facility.

Lynn Penner-Ash had worked for long time Oregon icon Rex Hill before opening her own operation. I visited the tasting room in early April and was blown away by the beautiful facility and the incredible wines.

Her wines have a feature I can only describe as delicate. I brought home a bottle of her Pinot Noir which I’ll open in the future. But tonight I opened her Roseo – a dry Rose’ from Pinot Noir grapes.

This is a very light, “delicate” wine. Some wine drinkers might find it ‘thin’ but I didn’t at all. It’s very light but structured and satisfying. I got a little light strawberry on the nose but on the palate this wine is satisfying. Just know going in its a light glass of wine.

Penner-Ash is distributed in Ohio and Illinois. (Note below, a reader has found Penner Ash in Indiana. I usually check such things! Thanks for the heads up!)

P-A is a premium Pinot Noir producer. If you find her wines at all, buy a bottle.

I love Rose during the summer and this was the lightest I’ve ever tasted. Still, there was a structure and balance that made it very enjoyable.

Penner-Ash Pinot Noir falls into the same $30-$65 range as most Oregon premium Pinot Noir. So I was shocked to learn the Rose sells for ten bucks! The 2008 has jumped to $15, but still an incredible bargain.

This is a fine glass of Rose for those who like a lighter touch.

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Every time I open a really great bottle of wine I am like a kid at Christmas.

Saturday night I wanted some shrimp and a crisp white wine to go with it. I went to the rack and searched for one of my “better bottles” of white.

I grabbed a 2007 Willakenzie Estate Pinot Gris I had purchased during a 2008 visit to the Willamette Valley. While not usually a big white fan, as I’ve noted on many occasions, this white is spectacular.

This wine has a pedigree too! Since 1997 its never scored lower with Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast than an 87. Nearly half of those ratings of the past decade were 90 or higher. It’s easy to see why with this fruity and crisp white wine.

It has a beautiful nose of pineapple and melon and even some floral that so many wine geeks will rave about. It had a rounded mouthful of fruit on the front of the palate and a nice acid on the finish.

I took those shrimp and drizzled some olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper, some garlic powder and one full fresh lime and grilled them. It was to die for with this well-made Pinot Gris.

If you find the wine it can range anywhere from $15-$20. It seems like I’ve seen the wine in Indiana, but I’m uncertain. They can’t ship direct here, but may have a distributor. If you see it on a restaurant menu or in a wine shop – pick some up. This is great juice!

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A good friend recently spent a week’s vacation in the state of Virginia and visited one of its state’s wineries – Valhalla Vineyards.

They have an interesting lineup of wines and he tasted several which he enjoyed. Once again this proves, there are states outside of the west coast producing good wine!

He brought me a bottle of their Dry Rose, made from 100 percent Sangiovese. I’ve had Sangiovese-based Rose from Old World countries before and liked it – not as much as the grenache-based rose, but good wine nonetheless.

This Rose didn’t have a lot of the strawberry nose and flavor of most. It was dry and it was a very dark red, not the usual blush or strawberry red color. Without any offense, it was much like Chianti Light. Think of light beer and you’ll get the reference.

I should quickly add that I’m not being negative about the wine. I had it with some guyere cheese and crackers and it was quite good. It is different from most of the Rose I’ve tasted, but I’d drink it again. It’s very true the varietal which is the mark of any good wine.

I should add that it did not hold up well over 24 hours, but was fine the night I opened it. That’s not unusual. I find most wines change substantially over 24 hours even when stored correctly. There is a great blog on that topic. Take a look at 2 Days Per Bottle, written by another Hoosier!

I’ve long said don’t be afraid of trying new things. I guess I should amend that to don’t be afraid to try new things and familiar things from new places!

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Two newspaper columns ago I wrote about my favorite ‘day trip’ to Huber Winery at Starlight, in the Southern Indiana Hills abover Jeffersonville and Floyds Knob, Indiana.

My last column was about my tasting experience at the Indy International Wine Competition.

The two have collided in a positive way for Ted Huber and his staff at the sprawling farm and winery.

Huber just cleaned up in the prestigious competition.Huber was named the Indiana Winery of the Year, Winemaker of the Year, Indiana Wine of the Year, Indiana Grown Vinifera of the Year, Indiana Grown Fruit Wine of the Year, and had six Best of Class winners in the commercial division.

Here is a complete list of their winners: Apple, Raspberry, Razzy Apple, NV, GOLD
Aurore, Lakeside White, 2008, SILVER
Blaufrankisch, , 2007, BRONZE
Blueberry, , 2008, GOLD
Cabernet Franc, , 2007, GOLD
Cabernet Sauvignon, , 2007, SILVER
Catawba, , 2008, BRONZE
Chambourcin, , 2007, DOUBLE GOLD
Chambourcin Port Style, Knobstone, 2003, SILVER
Chambourcin, Blauframisch, Cabernet Franc, Generation, 2007, GOLD
Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Heritage, 2006, GOLD
Chambourcin, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Heritage, 2007, SILVER
Chardonel, , 2008, GOLD
Chardonel, Seyval, Vidal, Sparkling Starlight, NV, DOUBLE GOLD
Grappa, , NV, DOUBLE GOLD
Niagara, , 2008, SILVER
Peach, , 2008, BRONZE
Pinot Gris, , 2008, BRONZE
Raspberry, , 2008, DOUBLE GOLD
Seyval, Vidal, Villard, Starlight White, 2008, SILVER
Traminette, , 2008, SILVER
Vignoles, , 2008, DOUBLE GOLD

You can click here to see all the winners in various categories at the competition.

That’s impressive folks. Now are you ready for that one tank trip?

Congrats to Ted and the folks at Hubers! This was domination!

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I always make a big batch of pasta sauce, meat, etc. on Sunday nights. Then I eat it a time or two again during the week.

I did just that Sunday night and went to look for a bottle of wine. I didn’t have any Italian wines or a Garnacha, both of which I like with Italian.

I grabbed a bottle of French wine I bought on recommendation and popped it open. The wine was a 2003 Chateau Pesquie Les Terrasses. It had a smooth flavor but nothing interesting on the front of the palate. It had a lively Grenache (French) or Garnacha (Spanish) spice flavor on the finish. But, I thought the wine was a little flat initially.

I popped open the Internet to see what I could learn. I learned it was 70 percent Grenache and 30 percent Syrah – therefore, the nice finish. Robert Parker liked this wine and gave it an 89! But then something colored my opinion. Parker said the wine would be best in 2007.

I wish I had thought of that, and it makes sense. I’m not sure my palate is experienced enough to recognize a wine just past its prime. That being said, it was a okay glass of wine – not great. I wish I had tasted it in its prime.

The winery is a storied wine-making estate in Provence. New owners took the winery over in the 80s and have made a name for themselves with these French wines. You can find this wine in the $11-$12 range.

The point of this rambling post is that some times the Internet can teach you things. I’m not sure I always agree with Robert Parker or Wine Spectator’s ratings, but it’s useful information to educate your palate.

And by the way, these French blends from Cotes-du-Rhone are consistently great value wines!

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Because I do have readers who only follow the blog, I’m going to point you over to the blog where I post my newspaper columns.

I had a great experience on Tuesday as a “judge in training” for the Indianapolis International Wine Competition. It’s the biggest wine competition outside of California.

I write about the experience and have a photo album attached.

You can see the column by clicking here. You can also read all 18 of my columns since starting this effort.