Rose Sneak Attack! Calcu Rose Cochagua Valley, Chile 2008

I found this gorgeous bottle of Rose at Puro-Chile a new wine store in NYC that only sells Chilean wine (http://www.puro-chile.com/).  It's awesome - and next door they sell very cool Chilean products like honey, avocado oil, chutneys... I am a sucker for chutney! 

So when I opened this the other night with my friend Catherine, it made me think of the study my boss told me about. He mentioned that these testers tinted white wine to make it red and stripped away color to make a red wine appear white. The wine scholars would still note “hints of plum” on the “red wine” even though it was only a tinted white wine. We often judge more from sight and then compensate for taste based on our expectation. I know that if I’ve spent $80 on a bottle of wine at a restaurant, I want to make sure I enjoy it - $80’s worth!

As I vigorously inhaled the aromas of the wine I became perplexed.  Let me tell you what I was drinking... it was a Calcu Rose 2008 made from Malbec (50%), Carmenere(40%), and Syrah(10%). Even though the color was pink lemonade pink, I still was expecting a fuller bodied rose because of these heavy hitter red varietals. Catherine sipped it first and told me that she smelled a lot of sulphur. I thought she might just be experiencing a barnyard-y quality from the Syrah. Yes, I assumed she was wrong (it goes back to the study mentioned above - people who claim to be "in the know" come out with different expectations), but she wasn’t wrong. Initially, there was a lot of sulphur on the nose, but it blew off and what was left was not berry, or hints of plum, or raspberry. It was GRAPEFRUIT!  Pink Grapefruit to be precise - a little Indian River to be exact! Grapefruit is something I would normally attribute to a fresh and zesty white- like a Sauvignon Blanc.

Respectable rose is made by allowing red grapes minimal contact with their skins (that’s where red wine gets its color and also where that miracle Reversitrol is located). Sometimes, in very frownie faced situations, Rose is made by blending white wine with a touch of red wine. This Rose drank so much like a white wine that I thought it might have been blended with some Sauvignon Blanc, but there was a backbone of very tart cranberry and wild strawberry that made me reconsider.   Also, the name.  Calcu means  magician in the Mapuche language.  There was definetly a little sorcery at work in the bottle.

Even though this rose was not what I expected, I tried to keep an open mind (it was fantastic with my blue cheese, pecan pear salad.  I fought to not let my expectations get in the way of my wine enjoyment and experience.  Hmmm as Stan Marsh would say, " I think we learned something today!"

And then... she ordered a beer! La Fin du Monde by Unibroue

The other day I was cozied up to the bar at a French bistrot by Columbia University.  It was a cold New York February afternoon and if you used a little imagination, you might have believed you were in Montreal.  I ordered the Moules Frites and instead of checking out their wines by the glass I looked at their beer menu. Given my Canadian faux realite it seemed like the right thing to do!

They had a lot of cool Belgian beers and craft beers. I couldn’t resist – I was overwhelmed by the list – but they had good descriptions (I imagine) of each the beers – so I ordered the Fin du Monde because it promised to be floral and aromatic.

Appropriately, it was poured in its designated glass and that description was no lie – it was floral without being perfumy and it was quite aromatic. It was citrusy, spicy, caramelly and fragrant. With the salty fries and the shallot /garlic butter-broth goodness; it was a perfect pairing! The Fin du Monde (a trappist style Golden Ale) was refreshing and yet substantial. I totally left with a buzz – it made it that much easier to brave the subway!

This is a Canadian beer from a microbrewery called Unibroue. They are pretty serious about their craft beers and they triple ferment this beer in the bottle according to ye olde tradition. They don't completely filter everything out of the beer.  That's why savvy servers take their time in gingerly pouring these trappist style ales.  The lees (dead yeast cells) are at the bottom of the bottle.  However, this adds to the flavor profile, you get your vitamin B, and it adds to the logevity of the beer.  The company states that the beers can last up to 9 years.  Whoah!  Oh and it's 9% alcohol (similar to a sweet German Riesling or a Vinho Verde) that's more boozy than the average beer bear!

If you see these in the craft beer section of your store - give it a shot.  Craft beers are gaining more and more shelf space in the liquor stores and supermarkets.  It's easy to see why.

http://www.unibroue.com/products/fin.cfm

Color Blond like me


Palate Smooth, slightly tart with the balanced flavors of wild spices, malt and hops


Aroma: Caramelized orange, cardamom, brioche