Here in California where I grew up, pizza used to be a tough crust oozing with the cheapest cheese money could buy and a tomato sauce so raunchy it took a dose of macho red wine to wash it down. Cleanse the palate, as we gourmets say today. But the pizza scene has evolved, and I’m here to suggest that nowadays certain rosés can be perfectly appropriate with pizza. No, I’m not talking about those faceless rosés that flood the market. Here at 1605? At Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant? Where have you been? While almost no one was looking, there was a teensy swell of revolution in a few French wine cellars, an experiment to try to recreate what rosé used to be before the wine scientists fangled up the rosé winemaking recipe. As importers, KLWM encouraged that budding revolution and we are seeing occasional bottled results to offer for your approval and enjoyment at table.
     For one thing, these are rosés that, like all red wines, finish their malolactic fermentation. It is not artificially blocked as it is in 99.9% of rosé wines. Most are bottled without filtration. Bottled intact, in other words. They ferment completely dry, can be light or full-bodied, and often they offer more tannin than we’ve learned to expect, a tannin that can come in handy with a classic pizza. Some look like rosé but have a purple heart.
     I find them interesting gastronomically, because they don’t overpower the taste of whatever you serve. And of course, imagine how useful they are if, like me, you don’t always want white wine with fish.
     Our stocks change. These are not assembly-line productions. Nor are they like Beaujolais Nouveau with a given release date. And I don’t want to forget mentioning, these rosés are totally appropriate during all four seasons. A Vivaldian wine, anyone?
     Drop by to talk to our staff or call 510.524.1524. In the kitchen and at table, I’m having a lot of fun with these precursors. They are paving the way for the success of a more natural, old-fashioned style rosé vinification. It’s like a new toy. Here are some great rosés available now and there will be more as time goes by.