Bonny Doon 2015 Vin Gris de Cigare, Central Coast

Temperatures are rising. Sweat is flowing. Humidity is a plague to us all. Darn right! This is the rosé time of year.

A Peculiar Pink

Just a few minutes ago my wife was slavishly forcing me to work on preparations for a garage sale. Normally, no problem. However, our area has been in the middle of a “heat dome” causing the temperatures to soar over 90 degrees and the misery index even higher.

As you can imagine, my garage was not the ideal place for “chillaxing.” What is ideal, however, is chilled rosé!
Bonny Doon Vineyard is known for funky, fantastic wines. They also produce several rosé wines that are stylish and refreshing.

A Traditional Vin Gris

Vin Gris is not “gray wine” as the name might indicate, but a pale rosé made from red grapes. After just minimum contact with the grape skins, and at the precise moment to capture the glorious pink hue, the grapes are pressed.

For the Vin Gris de Cigare, an assortment of Rhone grapes are used: 44% Grenache, 20% Grenache Blanc, 12% Carignane, 11% Mourvèdre, 7% Cinsaut, and 6% Roussanne. This is an eclectic mix of grapes that formulate an elegant and refreshing wine. Twenty-six percent of the grapes come from Bonny Doon’s Beeswax Vineyard.

From the start, the wine delights with a light strawberry pink color. It is an easy drinking wine with berry and melon flavors. Serve this chilled on a hot day, but not too cold. If it is too cold, you will miss some of the subtle flavors.

Face the sweltering heat with a stiff upper lip and a chilled bottle or two of this fine rosé. The price is a cool $18 and it over-delivers on enjoyment and flavor.

Full disclosure: We received this wine as a marketing sample.

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