Spring is in the air here in Sonoma County. After a long, wet winter (which makes for happy vines!), the sun has returned and our thoughts turn to warm afternoons and longer days spent sipping Rosé. We found a great one for you in today’s unique 2015 Bechthold Vineyard Lodi, California Rosé of Cinsaut. Big yum!

Gorgeous pink hue with excellent clarity and brilliance, with a slight tint like a sunset. A rich and interesting nose that is a balance between a wine that’s been through malolactic fermentation like a Chardonnay or Rousanne, and a white wine that hasn’t like Sauvignon Blanc. A sur lees character greets bright aromas of raspberry, melon, dates, and banana. Complex, yet fun and enticing! Anyone familiar with the famous French candy “bon bon de framboise” will be instantly reminded of them - there is a delightful raspberry candy flavor that is the star of the show, along with peach, strawberry, bartlett pear, pineapple, and persimmon. The wine is very fruit forward without being too sweet, setting up a very nice finish where the fruit dances across the palate before disappearing. If you’re already in the spring mindset, this wine is perfect to kick off your garden party, with raspberry and pineapple skewers (coated with lime juice) to complement the flavors found in this rosé and make them pop!

So, just what is Cinsault?! Pronounced SaN-so, it is one of the 13 varieties permitted in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region in Southern France (amazingly, there are more Cinsault vines in France than Cabernet Sauvignon vines!). One rarely finds it bottled on its own, which makes today’s wine all the more special.

Cinsault tends to produce delicious wines that have the delicate body of a Pinot and the ripe berry fruit forwardness of a Zinfandel. Today’s wine is unique, but it does somewhat remind us of a Rosé of… Sangiovese. This means that the wine ripe, juicy, and super food friendly!