Rosé Revolution: Wines of Provence, France

My BC2BC grand wine tour exploring 4,000+ wineries from Baja California to British Columbia took a slight detour this week with the arrival of three premium Rosé bottles and one white wine from Provence, France. Côtes de Provence is the largest wine growing region in southeastern France with about 50,000 acres of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Carignan, and Tibouren vineyards. In fact, over 80% of wines produced in this region are made into premium Rosé. Current French AOC guidelines require that at least 20% of rosé must be blended from wine produced by the saignee method of maceration. Global wine lovers are in the midst of a Rosé revolution; sales of imported French Rosé grew by over 20% in 2010 for the US market, with dry Rosé now outselling white wine in France. Today, US wine consumers can find a large selection of over 100 Provence domains on wine shelves across the country. For those wine lovers who haven’t yet discovered the new world of Dry Rosé ~ now is a great time to explore these elegant and graceful wines that pair up perfectly for any occasion. The true beauty of elegant vin Rosé is that it pairs well with almost every possible culinary option.

How did a Nebbiolo from Mexico win the only Grand Gold awarded to any global Nebbiolo at the 2011 VinItaly wine competition, including Italy? I spent eight years living, researching, writing and filming in Mexico’s premier wine country near Ensenada in Baja California. By default, I became the first international wine writer to reside in Guadalupe Valley. The amazing wine and culinary adventure that followed led me to discover Mexico’s “silent revolution” in creating wines of world-class quality. As a lover of Italian Barolo wines, it didn’t take me long to realize the phenomenal possibilities for growing and crafting superior Nebbiolo grapes and wine. Thus in 2004, I planted my “little” vineyard of Nebbiolo fruit and began the process of making limited amounts of artisan wine in 2008.