As June winds to an end, our days are seemingly longer accompanied by rays of light painting the sky with varied warm hues until long into the evening.   Aromas of ripening stone fruit and strawberries fill the air and the garden landscape is dotted with brightly colored blossoms of various vegetables yet to come.  Flowers continue to burst into bloom seeking the warmth of the summer sun and seemingly everywhere one turns, the eye is met with a vibrant diverse color palette only known to summer. 

It is intuitive to spend more time outdoors and laze on backyard patios while savoring these longer days with the picturesque ambience that abounds from nearly every backyard.   With warm temperatures and plenty of summer culinary fare literally at your fingertips, the time is ripe for casual entertaining or simple relaxation with Rosé.

Rosé, as it has been previously featured on the site, can be made a variety of ways and from any number of red wine grapes.   To show the diversity of the pink wine, in the past I have featured Rosé wines made from Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others.   Veering away from obscurity to standard tradition, Girard Winery (“Girard”) produces a Zinfandel Rosé which captures the very essence of this point in summer.

Typically a Zinfandel Rosé does not fit my palate as they can be overly sweet or reminiscent of a standard strawberry flavored hard candy.   Girard’s Zinfandel Rosé dashes these perceptions away as instead it is remarkably clean in the mouth, showing off as refreshing and crisp.   With only 2% residual sugar, the wine is able to emulate a certain dryness while still showing off a lush strawberry flavor with a hint of watermelon.  Its fruit nuances are attributed to the 90% of Girard’s Zinfandel grapes used (the juice of which is only allowed minimal contact with the grape skins prior to stainless steel tank fermentation).   Later Girard adds 4.5% of Syrah, 3% of their amazing Sauvignon Blanc and 2.5% of Grenache.  Aromatic of rose petals from the garden, this wine is ideally suited for late June.

It is no secret that Rosé is the proverbial “party wine”.   By nature it is easy drinking and a great sidekick to appetizers or picnics.    Do not let the casual nature of Rosé fool you, however.   It saddles up well to summer dinner salads and seasonal fruit.  Keeping this in mind, this week’s menu hosts:

1)      Basted Poppy Seed Grilled Chicken Summer Salad with Fresh Strawberries; and

2)     Fresh Apricot Pie.

Putting together the Basted Poppy Seed Grilled Chicken Summer Salad is a simple flavorful fix on warm summer evenings.    Always seeking an excuse to fire up the charcoal grill, chicken breasts are basted with a homemade semi-sweet poppy seed salad dressing while a variety of fresh colorful sweet lettuces, delicate spring onions and strawberries are collected from the garden.   Adding some sliced almonds, bits of chevré cheese and sliced mandarin oranges, the salad is quickly put together and adorned with slices of the basted grilled chicken.   Pouring the wine into the glass, it is easy to visual how this wine serves brilliantly alongside.

Taken together, the wine and the salad are like festive summer flavors entertaining the palate on a warm late June evening.   Serving the Rosé chilled is like experiencing refreshing crisp iced strawberries.

By the time dessert rolls around, typically there is no Rosé left.   It is light, refreshing and easy drinking.    This actually works well when serving a seasonal summer dessert like Fresh Apricot Pie.   The pie does not pair well with the wine.   But after a meal of sweet flavors, the blend of sweet and tart found in the Apricot Pie serves as the perfect palate cleanser while remaining loyal to current seasonal summer fruit.

Wrapping up a meal such as this on the back deck in the late evening summer rays leaves guests feeling closely paired with this specific point in summer.   Lost in the surroundings of vibrant varied colors and aromas of vegetables, flowers and fruit growing all around us, Girard’s Zinfandel Rosé romantically seems almost equally organic.