Touchdown, Wine!

There's been quite the debate over who will win Super Bowl LII. Will Tom Brady and Bill Belichik lead the Patriots to yet another win? Or will the Philadelphia Eagles win their first championship since 1960? 

One thing that won't be up for debate is the MVP of your Super Bowl Watch Party. Spoiler alert, it's wine! 

We've collected some of our favorite recipes for snacks perfect for the big game from Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and Southern Living and paired them with some of our favorite wines. 

Photo Credit: Bon Appétit 

Photo Credit: Bon Appétit 

CHIPS & GUACAMOLE: Every good party needs chips and dip and this one will guac your world. A bright white like Marqués de Cáceres Verdejo, a dry Riesling like August Kesseler Rudesheim Riesling, or a zesty New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc like Mohua all pair perfectly. 

Photo Credit: Food & Wine

Photo Credit: Food & Wine

PIGS IN A BLANKET: Few things disappear as quickly at a party as Pigs in a Blanket. The warm sausage and crisp pastry...we're getting hungry just thinking about it. These from Food & Wine are brushed with a tasty mix of honey, mustard, and fresh black pepper to kick things up a notch. Pair with a dry rosé, like La Vieille Ferme or Miraval (both made by the Perrin Family). 

Photo Credit: Bon Appétit 

Photo Credit: Bon Appétit 

PIZZA: Whether or not your team ends up breaking a pizza your heart, you'll want a slice of this pie from Bon Appétit Magazine. Get creative and add your own toppings or stick to classic cheese. Either way, pair with a Barbera or Dolcetto like Massolino produces. 

Photo Credit: Bon Appétit

Photo Credit: Bon Appétit

CHILI: How could we share recipes for the Super Bowl without including a recipe that is served in a bowl? Chili is the perfect antidote to cold weather and bonus- this one is made in a crockpot so you'll spend less time cooking and more time drinking! Try this crockpot chili with South African Ashbourne Pinotage, a Rhône Blend from Famille Perrin like Châteauneuf du Pape Les Sinards, or an Argentinian Malbec (you really can't go wrong with anything from TintoNegro). 

Photo Credit: Southern Living Magazine

Photo Credit: Southern Living Magazine

NACHOS: These are nacho average chips and toppings. These sheet pan nachos are customizable for any taste, fast, and fun. So if the party eats them up (and they will!), you'll be able to pop another round in the oven. This Southern Living recipe is elevated when paired with Thibault Liger Belair Moulin à Vent Vieilles Vignes Beaujolais. 

A few other tips for Super Bowl snack pairings:

Serving anything fried- French fries, fried chicken, fried pickles, etc? Serve champagne. We love Champagne Delamotte Brut  or Blanc de Blancs. 

Serving wings? With spicy dipping sauces or marinades you'll want to go with something semi-dry but a little sweet- like Pichot Vouvray. 

Finally, the meatier the dish (maybe you add bacon and sausage and pepperoni to your pizza...), the heartier the wine. Borgo Scopeto makes a beautiful Chianti that can stand up to hearty meats. 

Harvest | Vendanges | Vendemmia |Traubenernte

Early fall is the busiest and most important time of the year for wineries in the Northern Hemisphere- Harvest season. Long hours and intensive labor consume each and every member of the winemaking team. 

There is so much that goes into a bottle of wine that the consumer never sees. Take a peek behind the curtain and explore harvest season at a few Vineyard Brands wineries around the world. 

FRANCE

Domaine de Courcel: A 400 year old family owned winery, located in the village of Pommard on the Côte d'Or, about four kilometers south-east of Beaune. 

Domaine Weinbach: Located at the foot of the majestic Schlossberg hill in Alsace, this family owned winery is run by Catherine Faller and her son, Théo. 

Les Alexandrins:  Located in the Northern Rhône Valley, Domaine & Maison Les Alexandrins is a collaboration among Nicolas Jaboulet, Guillaume Sorrel, and Alexandre Paso. 

Clos Triguedina: Found in southwestern France, Clos Triguedina is currently led by Jean Luc Baldes. 

Thibault Liger-Belair: Located in Nuits-St.-Georges, in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, the domaine has been in the Liger-Belair family for 250 years.

ITALY

Massolino: Located in northern Italy in the Piedmont region, the Massolino estate was founded in 1896. 

Gradis'ciutta:  Driven by Robert Princic, Gradis'ciutta is located in northern Italy and before carrying the name Gradis’ciutta, this place was known as Monsvini, which in Latin means “Mount of Wine.”

GERMANY

August Kesseler: Situated in the Assmannshausen in the Rheingau region, the wine estate of August Kesseler consists of vineyard sites in Lorch (for Riesling and Silvaner wines), on the slopes of the hills around Rüdesheim and in the area called “Assmanshäuser Höllenberg.”

UNITED STATES

Tablas Creek Vineyard: West of Paso Robles, on California's Central Coast, Tablas Creek is named after the small creek running through the property and the the 120-acre site sits twelve miles from the Pacific Ocean. You can find more detailed harvest updates on their blog.

Pink & Provençal

Like we've written about before, rosé has become a staple in wine racks and on wine lists across the world. One of the reasons it is so popular is its versatility. Rosé finds itself somewhere in the middle between red wine and white wine. 

Mark Oldman said it best: 
"To achieve rosé nirvana, follow my 'Rosé Rule of P': serve it with anyting pink–lobster, shrimp, ham, pork–or anything Provençal–such as bouillabaisse, salade Nicoise, or grilled sardines"

We've rounded up a few recipes for you- both pink and Provençal- and a few of our favorite rosés- also pink and (mostly) Provençal. 

Thai Chicken and Watermelon salad

Fresh red berry and orange pith aromas of the La Vieille Ferme Rosé pair nicely with the chicken and pucker salad dressing-- plus what's could be more summer than watermelon and rosé?
Photo: Food & Wine

Crisp Tomato, Zucchini, Eggplant and Bread Gratin

This August Kesseler Rosé made from Pinot Noir works well with the juicy tomatoes and late-summer vegetables of the gratin. 
Photo: Photo: Food & Wine

Strawberry, Balsamic, and Goat Cheese Salad

Another classic spring and summer combination- strawberries and rosé. This light, refreshing salad works is the perfect lunch with a glass of well-balanced, elegant Miraval. 
Photo: Sweet Paul Magazine

Salmon Niçoise Pasta Salad

A twist on the classic French Niçoise salad, this salmon Niçoise pasta salad would be perfect for a picnic with a bottle of Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Rosé.
Photo: Coastal Living

Best-ever Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

Finally, who doesn't love a little bubbly? Try these chocolate raspberry brownies with this Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Rosé from Domaine Michel Briday.

An Insider's Look at Rosé

It’s hard to walk into your local wine shop or supermarket and not notice the stunning rows of jewel-hued rosés.  And considering the boom in popularity that rosé has enjoyed the past several years, there’s a strong chance that these beauties ranging in color from the palest of pinks to outrageous magentas will be featured prominently.  As we explored in a recent blog post, rosé has gone from being just another wine to a cultural phenomenon in a few short years.  However, most people, even the most ardent fans, have little idea of rosé’s fascinating journey from grape to glass.

While researching this article, I was fortunate to speak with two winemakers very knowledgeable about rosé production, Chelsea Franchi of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, CA and Simon Batarseh of August Kesseler in the Rheingau region of Germany.

It is a common misconception that rosé is made by simply combining red and white wines together.  While this technically can occur, it is quite rare when making quality rosé.  Franchi, who oversees much of the rosé production at Tablas Creek, started our conversation speaking about the two most common methods of producing rosé:  saignée and direct press. 

The saignée method involves bleeding off juice from red wine tanks before it has had a chance to take on too much color from the red wine skins (this process is called maceration).  This labor-intensive method is interesting and controversial because it is often used as a way to enhance and concentrate the remaining red wine.  Many rosé advocates consider it an affront to rosé because it is the by-product of red wine production.  However, both Franchi and Batarseh praised this method for contributing intensity of flavors and for the amount of input they have while utilizing it.  At Tablas Creek, the juice sits on the skins for approximately 24-72 hours before about 20% is bled off and subjected to a cold fermention.  Most of this wine then becomes their serious, darker colored rosé called Dianthus (named for the flowers commonly known as “pinks”).  Dianthus is generally Mourvèdre-based, a nod to the rosés of Southern France, specifically the Bandol area.  Franchi attributes this wine’s watermelon essence to the Mourvèdre used in the blend.  At Kesseler about 20% of the juice from wonderful up to 80-year-old Pinot Noir vines is bled off then fermented.   Batarseh leans on this wine to contribute color and tannins to the final blend.

The other common method of making rosé involves direct pressing of the grapes.  This method is the most common and generally is considered the benchmark for crafting quality rosé.  Both Franchi and Batarseh praised the fact that crop levels, sugar levels, acidities, and harvest dates can all be controlled in the vineyard and tailored to make the absolute best rosé.  They both also press the juice off the grape skins without any maceration time resulting in a stunning pale pink color.  Often you will see this wine labeled as vin gris.  At Tablas Creek, this limpid direct press juice is destined to become their acclaimed Patelin de Tablas Rosé.  Franchi said that they prefer to co-ferment their Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise, and Syrah juice for this wine.  This wine is definitely styled in the tradition of the great Provençal rosés with its dominant bright strawberry notes coming from the majority Grenache.  At Kesseler the direct press juice is blended with the saignée juice for the final wine.  Batarseh likes the interplay of qualities produced by using both methods, noting that the direct press juice brings a light, bright, acid-driven quality to the final wine. 

via Wine Folly (www.winefolly.com)

via Wine Folly (www.winefolly.com)

I asked Franchi what her favorite grape is to work with in the production of rosé.  After some thought she answered, “Grenache,” and referenced the absolutely heavenly, heady aroma released by the vats of fermenting Grenache in the cellar.  Indeed, when studying many of the great rosé-producing areas of the world, Grenache often seems to pop up.  It makes sense when considering that Grenache is a very thin-skinned grape and overall has less color-lending phenolic compounds than other red grapes.  Franchi also referenced the little-known Rhone Valley grape Counoise as contributing a nice softness and darker red fruit flavors to their rosés as well as those produced in Southern France.  Often Syrah is also added also its wonderful spicy character.

Grenache Grapes

Grenache Grapes

At Kesseler, Batarseh works exclusively with Pinot Noir for rosé production.  Once again we find a grape with thin skin and low levels of phenolic compounds.  It’s no surprise that in most of the world’s great Pinot Noir regions there is also usually concurrent rosé production (think Marsannay in Burgundy, Oregon, Germany, and the Loire Valley).  Producers in these regions get the dual benefits of producing a gorgeous berry-scented rosé and intensifying the often light juice destined for their Pinot Noir bottlings.  At Kesseler, considered one of Germany’s premier Pinot Noir specialists, their rosé shows beautiful berry and cherry notes while maintaining an elegant and exciting tension.  It’s definitely refreshing but has the stuffing for year-round drinking. 

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Next time you’re buying a bottle of rosé for the lunch table, pool, or just a summer evening with friends, talk with the wine specialist or turn that bottle over and read the back label.  Besides the important visual clues from the color, you’ll gain some great perspective on what’s in a bottle by simply knowing how it’s made.  And don’t be embarrassed for buying it! 

As Franchi told me, “The stigma is over.  Rosé is one of the most delicious, versatile, and food friendly wines out there.”  Think pink!!