Just me and my wine - The outlook is not so Rose-y

In my never ending quest to fight the evil writers block I recently promised twice-monthly wine recommendations. That means I will drink wine, think long and hard about what that wine says to me (and to me its usually saying "Drink me! Drink more of me! BwaHaHaHa."), and then pass that wisdom on to you guys after I've sobered up. Because one never wants to drink and blog, does one? If that becomes a habit one will start posting about the fabulousness of one's new pedicure, fall back on the beauty of one's child, or participate in far too many memes. And one will keep referring to oneself as "one".

Before I go any further I feel I have to make perfectly clear the fact that I am not a wine expert. I am simply a wine lover who drinks, um... Let's just say enough wine for a mother of a challenging young child to decompress with after a long, hard day. I've been to many a winery, participated in quite a few tastings, and I have a husband who shares my passion for this hobby. Oh, and I have a sister who owns her own restaurant who keeps us stocked with free vino and, if we are so inclined, tickets to informative events. Or, as I like to call them, drunk-fests.

(I know that's not the purpose of those events, but after tasting the offerings of 4 or 5 distributors, its hard not to feel a little tipsy. And please don't get me started on spitting. I don't spit.)

If you read a recommendation from me about a wine that you've had and you think I'm full of shit - Tell me. I don't care and it won't hurt my feelings. These recommendations are based on my opinion (and maybe my husband's), if you'd like to add your two cents, go ahead and add away. Please, I encourage it. My tastes may be different than yours and I welcome your opinion.

One more thing before I get to this week's selections: You will never see me recommend a white zinfandel. Never. Don't even ask. I'm not a wine snob of the highest degree, but I've got to have my standards.

On to the wines...

My darling husband was in a Rosé phase over Memorial Day weekend. I have no idea why. As I mentioned before, we don't drink pink wines unless they're bubbly, so you can imagine the perplexed expression on my face when he removed the bottles from the paper sack. He had purchased a 2005 Marques de Caceres Rioja for approximately $9, a 2004 Vin Gris De Cigare for $12, and a Chateau Puech-Haut for $16. I almost wept when I saw that the Hubby had spent 16 bucks on a Rosé but since we weren't returning them to the store from which they were purchased, we put them in the refrigerator to chill. Luck would have it that the weekend was warm so the wines were not a bad choice after all.

If you're new to wine, or if you insist on drinking pink beverages that aren't made by Nestle or Kool-Aid, a Rosé is a good wine to cut your teeth on. They're light on the tongue, not too sweet (actually, they're not really what I would call sweet at all) and the flavor almost always disappears soon after you swallow. In my opinion its a good wine to zone out with because it doesn't require much thinking. Real wine connoisseurs might disagree with me, but I am not a real wine connoisseur. To me, a Rosé is better than drinking water, but not much.

The $16 bottle - which I can't find a webpage for anywhere - was mildly interesting. Subtle in taste, it didn't overwhelm me at first, but the more I drank of it the more I enjoyed it. If I had to pick the one I liked the best, that would probably be the one. But it will be a cold day in hell before I spend 16 hard earned dollars on that wine again. For the money, I thought the $9 Rioja was the best. Much more flavorful than the other two and it won't hurt to open your wallet to buy.

The moral of the story - It doesn't always pay to look at life through Rosé colored glasses. Try a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc instead.