It is only recently that I have begun sipping Rose wines again. There are some INCREDIBLY good, refreshing, food friendly, delectable libations in a glass out there. More often than not I have been opening up bottles of the ‘pink stuff’ that has made my tastebuds dance in joyous celebration.
Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days.
Instead, I opened a bottle out of California from a producer who shall remain nameless in this particular posting, took a sip, and it brought tears to my eyes…for all of the wrong reasons. It reminded me why I swore off roses so long ago. Sickeningly sweet, fruits bordering on rancid, no balance whatsoever. Not the joy I contemplated from a rose blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mouvedre.
It wasn’t a particularly expensive wine, so pouring it out wouldn’t have hurt much more than my wounded palate and pride, but the words of my dear departed Gram popped into my head, saying, ‘Sheral, when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.’
Okay, I’m lying…she would have said, ‘screw this…open up the brandy’, which is actually what popped in my head and made me think of creating art from this garbage I found heaped into my glass.
I set the opened bottle of rose aside, and started piecing together the ingredients for a little Corked Cowgirl Rose Sangria recipe. After soaking peaches, oranges, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries for an hour in a quarter cup of sugar and healthy doses of generic Triple Sec, Hiram Walker Peach Brandy, and the cheapest Peach Schnaaps I could find, I filled the pitcher with ice, dumped the fruit goodness into the bottom, poured in a can of Schweppes Ginger Ale, and dumped what I normally would have called ‘pink poison’ into the mix.
Suddenly, the clouds broke and a choir of angels began to sing ‘hallelujah’ from the heavens. Absolutely magnificent and a perfect summer sipper.
My friends, this is just more proof that the grape is absolutely the most magical fruit ever to be created. Even if you don’t care much for one incarnation of it, you’re sure to find a way to make it work for you with a little imagination. Don’t hesitate to experiment and enjoy…if you find yourself presented with a bottle you don’t care for, pour it over meat and use it as a flavorful marinade, doctor it up with whatever other inexpensive spirits and fruits you might have, but don’t necessarily scratch it off your list.
If at first you don’t succeed…sip, and sip again. Perhaps your ‘grape’ is more of a social butterfly and won’t truly shine until you pair it up with other ‘friends’ for a ‘party’…in my case, a Sangria party.
Cheers!
~CC
Corked Cowgirl 