Wine of the Month June 2008
                   La Grenouille Rougante "Pink"
                        (Produced by Frog's Leap Winery)
                                    Napa Valley, 2007
                                                                        
                                                
                                        




June is upon us, and with the coming of summer it's time to start stocking up on refreshing Rose' wines.  For readers unfamiliar with fine rose', please click on the July 2006 wine of the month to learn about rose' wines from the French Medeterranean coast.  Clearly, wine lovers along the warm coastal regions of Spain, France, and Italy have been enjoying fine Rose' for centuries.  Up until the last few years, very few American wineries ever made a serious rose' wine.  Most rose' wines produced in this country have been cheap, poorly made entirely forgettable products.  The whole "White Zin" craze several years ago made serious wine lovers shudder with disgust.  Fortunately, a few California wineries are now making excellent rose' wines.  In the last few months I have had superb "Rose of Pinot Noir" from Kosta Browne and Kutch, and I would strongly recommend these wines if you are able to find them.

This month's "Wine of the Month" award goes to a very interesting wine produced by Frog's Leap Winery in Napa Valley, California.  I've always liked Frog's Leap wines, and I've always liked the humorous and irreverent approach that they have adopted for their business.  It seems nowadays that too many wineries and wine makers take themselves way too seriously.  Such is not the case at Frog's Leap.  Even the winery name is somewhat of a joke, as it sort of pokes innocent fun at the immensely popular and prestigious Stag's Leap winery. 

I first came across the "Grenouille Rougante" while buying some melons at the Harvest Ranch Market in Encinitas.  I wanted to buy some white Rhone wines, which sadly they didn't seem to carry.  I was checking out the refridgerated wines, and saw what looked like a French Rose'.  As a die-hard lover of good French Rose', I picked up the bottle and read the label.  It said "La Grenouille Rougante".  I never heard of a winery by that name.  The logo, typeset, and label format all looked French, but something seemed amiss.  Then I noticed at the bottom of the label in small print:"Produced by Frog's Leap Winery, Rutherford California".   Another lampooning of the wine world by the characters at Frog's Leap, I concluded.  They were making a French Style Rose', so they ditched their normal label and made a Cotes du Provence style label and gave it a fancy French name.  It only cost 14 bucks, so I bought it and brought it home.

"La Grenouille Rougante 2007 Pink" turned out to be an outstanding rose' wine.  It is a blend of 92% Valdiguie, 4% Carignane, and 4% Petite Sirah.  Valdiguie is an interesting grape.  It has been farmed in California for over a hundred years, but has never been a major varietal in the California wine industry.  For many years the grape was thought to be a derivitve of the Gamay grape used to make Beaujolais wine in France, and the grape was therefore referred to as "Napa Gamay".  Recent genetic testing of the grape now shows that it has no relationship with Gamay, and the term "Napa Gamay" is being phased out.  The Valdiguie grape grown in Napa is a grape originially grown in the South of France, primarily in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.  The grape is used in France to make relatively cheap red wine.  I've never tried any of these French Valdiguie based wines, so I can not comment on the quality, although I have been told that they are nothing special.  The grape seems to shine, however, when grown in California and used to make rose'.

Like most Rose's, the 2007 Grenouille Rougante is meant to be consumed now.  These wines are not designed for long term ageing.  The wine has a lovely pink color, and a refreshing bouquet of strawberry, watermelon, cherry and rose petals.  The wine is lively on the palate with light red fruit flavors.  The wine has a crisp and refreshing finish.  This is a perfect wine to drink on a hot summer day in the mid-afternoon.  It will pair well with typical luncheon fare, but will also pair well with salmon, shell fish, burgers, or a tuna salad.  It would be a wonderful wine to have next month during a July 4th picnic or barbeque.  Like all good rose's, it really fits the bill when you want something with more "oomph" than a white wine, but don't want a heavy red.

4 stars.  Purchased for $14.00 at the Harvest Ranch Market in Encinitas.  It may be available elsewhere, since Frog's Leap wines are farirly widely distributed.  The wine can also be purchased directly from the winery website at http://www.frogsleap.com/

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