Wine Appreciation Group 1
Two forces dominate the rise and fall in popularity of wines: fashion and terroir. Fashion gives quick wins to almost any vintner canny enough to spot trends. But it is terroir – that elusive French word blending soil quality, climate, farming practice, grape type and habitat – that gives a wine its charm and uniqueness. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the world of rosé wines. Too often dismissed as ‘alsorans’ when judged against the classiest reds and whites, this is no longer the case, as members of Wine Appreciation Group 1 discovered to their delight at their June gathering.
We tasted and rated seven largely affordable rosés from some of Europe’s top vineyards, in a ‘guided tour’ by bon viveur David Collins. And there were some big surprises, not least the English Balfour 1503 Rosé, exclusive to Majestic, which illustrated how the terroir of the relatively new Kent vineyards can knock for six some of the highly-rated Old World rosés of Provence and Languedoc, regions of France that have seen a huge switch away from reds to produce some astounding rosés. There was an additional challenge at the gathering: to identify the ‘best’ three rosé wines to accompany our summer lunch on Sunday 28th July at Waterford village hall, which this year is on the simple theme of ‘Pink’ and, of course, scampi, prawn and salmon are perfect food accompaniments to the wines. Our chosen three were the Italian 11 Minutes Pasqua Rosé, English Balfour 1503 Rosé and Spanish Muga Rioja Rosada, all from Hertford’s Majestic.
The superb French Whispering Angel Rosé from Provence might have made the list but for the fact that, at £23.99, it was considered too expensive. If you would like to join us and learn more about wines generally in genial company and a casual atmosphere, we meet at 7.30pm on the fourth Thursday of every month at Waterford village hall, High Road, Waterford. Indeed, if you see this in time and would like to attend the summer lunch, let us know. For more information, contact: Mike Fagan or Ian Nash