A rosé fit for fall

Santa Julia Malbec Rosé

Mendoza, Argentina

$11.49 13.5% alcohol

PLCB Item #0124

Sale price through 10/31 – regularly $13.49

Rosé was once seen as a fleeting summer specialty, and pink wines like this one were harder to find after Labor Day. Now, people drink rosé year round.

Rosé wines are made using the same grapes used for producing red wines, in this case the dark-skinned malbec of Argentina. Since rosé needs to taste good chilled, the desired flavor profile is closer to that of a white wine. While red wines require mature vineyards and fully ripe grapes to achieve the levels of flavor and color extraction that make them look and taste satisfying, rosé wines made the same way would taste flat and lack refreshment. Instead, winemakers harvest grapes intended for pink winemaking earlier, to preserve vibrant acidity and avoid excessive ripeness.

In the winery, these grapes are given only a brief period of contact with the dark grape skins — typically less than 48 hours, compared to the two to four weeks of maceration needed for making a red. This methodology helps ensure that a wine like this one, from Santa Julia, will taste of fresh berries, rather than the baked fruit dessert flavors associated with this region’s robust red malbec wines. Try this sustainably farmed example made with 100% organic grapes with lighter fare, like salads, seafood, and vegetarian recipes.

No alternate retail offerings within 50 miles of Philadelphia, according to www.Wine-Searcher.com