Beatrice's Blushes: Canyon Wind Cellars "Anemoi Eos"

Anemoi 2015 Eos

Canyon Wind Cellars' 2015 "Anemoi Eos" Syrah Rosé (13% abv, Sample $28) is the first – and last – rosé of Syrah Jay and Jennifer Christianson will produce. Sadly, in March, the second-generation owners  unexpectedly announced they will be closing Canyon Wind Cellars by the end of 2016. I guess it wasn't necessarily unexpected for them, but for everyone in the Colorado wine industry it was a shock. Jay said a variety of reasons contributed to the decision, but he made sure to emphasize that they did not need to close because the winery was in financial trouble. About a decade ago, the younger Christiansons purchased the winery from Jay's parents who founded the winery in 1991. Jay said they decided it was time to begin a new chapter in their lives; which involves traveling around with an Airstream and consulting for wineries around the country.

Canyon Wind Cellars had to have been one of the most successful Colorado wineries. The portfolio had grown since Jay and Jennifer took over and the quality of the wines was always very high. In fact, Canyon Wind took home Best of Show in the state's Governor's Cup competition each of the last two years. The prime location of the vineyard at the mouth of DeBeque Canyon most likely has a lot to do with high level of success achieved by the Christianson family. Now it is time for a different producer to step up and claim the crown.

Beatrice's Blushes: Bonny Doon Il Ciliegiolo Rosato

Beatrice is now five months old. As I type this, she is playing with her feet and talking up a storm in her crib. I guess a nap is out of the question! She is actually a very good sleeper. She usually sleeps for 10-12 hours at night, with a snack or two thrown in. She'd actually sleep longer if we didn't wake her up to go to school. It can be difficult to disturb her from her slumber with that angelic look on her face, but she usually quite full of smiles when we do. And so are we!

Il Ciliegiolo Rosato

I had a bit more of a perplexing look on my face when I tasted this week's rosé. Randall Grahm has been known to push the envelope once or twice. The Bonny Doon Vineyard 2015 Il Ciliegiolo Rosato (12.4% abv, Sample $24) is another example of that trait. I think I've seen red wines that are lighter than this. It isn't bad, but is just a totally different type of wine than comes to mind when I think of pink wine.

Sourced from the Tracy Hills AVA, a small region in Central Valley due west of Modesto with only 5 vineyards, and made from Ciliegiolo. Ciliegiolo is from Italy, named after the Italian for 'cherry'. It is often a minor component of traditional blends, like Chianti. In Umbria it is made into a light quaffing wine. This rosato is what I could call a light quaffing red instead of a rosé. The grape is related to Sangiovese, but it is not really known if it is the parent or offspring.

This wine follows through on the cherry descriptor. It tastes like a cherry/blackberry pie. It has an odd buttery component that reminds me of a really butter pie crust. There is a touch of spice to it and it is rich and heavy. I don't dislike it, but I would definitely prefer a more traditional rosé – especially for the price.

Beatrice's Blushes: Bedrock Wine Co.

We're approaching a time in our life when we will have two mobile children. Recently, Ms. B has been rolling and scooting around like it is her job. It definitely is fun and exciting to see how she changes each day, but diaper changes have officially entered the octopus-wrestling-match realm. If you're not a parent, you won't really be able to fully appreciate that visualization. Another new trick is yoga. She's been practicing her best downward facing dog by getting her bottom up in the air pretty well. It won't be long now until she trades yoga for track and field and we will be chasing her around. Good thing her older brother doesn't evade us like an escaped convict anymore – we'll actually have to utilize him to help corral our cute little octopus!

Bedrock 2015 Ode to Lulu Rosé

Though not as exciting as watching children change, tasting the year-to-year changes in wine is one of the things I love about it. Seeing how weather affects the final product or how winemaker choices regarding a blend causes the synapses in my brain to fire. I especially enjoy observing these changes in rosé – I think the color lends itself to visualizing changes more than with red or white wines. One year a wine is a deep fuchsia and the next it could be a pale salmon. One of my favorite pink wines is the Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé (12.3% abv, Purchased $19) from California. The 2015 incarnation is almost 2/3 Mourvèdre (Mataro) and the rest Grenache and Carignan. This is such a festive wine, but this vintage comes across as a touch more serious and feral – but just a bit. It is slightly lighter than the 2014 but darker in color than the 2012 and 2011 vintages. The 2015 is mostly about bright red fruit and citrus. Both the aromas and flavors revolve around strawberries, watermelon and limes. Its almost like Morgan (the winemaker) put all those fruit into a blender with a tequila that was meant for sipping as he was making a margarita and then salted the rim of the glass with some pink Punjabi rock salt that he obtained on a backpacking trip through the Himalayas. It is ready to party, but holds back a bit of mystery...

Beatrice's Blushes: Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris Tuilé

Once again it has been too long since I posted about our weekly rosé. In that time, Beatrice has started full-time at daycare as mom has gone back to school. She seems to enjoy her time there, but she is by far the youngest of the group. Three of the four other children are walking and the fourth is almost a year old and crawling all over the place. Perhaps Bea will be an early walker like her brother because of how she observes her older classmates, but for now she is the odd man out.

Bonny Doon 2013 Vin Gris Tuilé

Similarly, Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris Tuilé (13% abv, Sample $26) is a bit of an oddball in the realm of pink wines. A blend of 55% grenache, 23% mourvèdre, 10% roussanne, 7% cinsaut, 3% carginane, and 2% grenache blanc, but don't think of this wine so much as a rosé but as an imitation Manzanilla. This wine was placed outside where it sat, in the elements for nine months in glass carboys to be "solarized" and tastes every bit oxidized as you might expect. It is quite complex with a tiny bit of dried citrus fruit, but most characteristics are of scorched cream, toasted nuts, gasoline and cumin seed. If you're looking for a crisp, refreshing rosé you'll be sadly disappointed. However, if you have fino sherry on your mind it might work for you as this is an interesting approach to selling an oxidized wine. Let's just say I'm not a fan of it, but I don't totally hate it.

Beatrice's Blushes: Lightning Rosé

16" of snow...

I'm sure if you turned on your television in the past two days you saw that the Denver metro area was inundated by snow on Wednesday. You got to love Colorado weather; Monday and Tuesday both saw high temperatures of 70 °F and then we were graced with 16" of snow on Wednesday between 4 am and 4 pm. At the peak of the storm, with visibility down to a maybe 100 m and winds pushing 40 mph my whole family ventured to a nearby park to play in the snow. Bea was strapped to mom and took a nap in the blizzard while Ben and I had a good wrestling match in the snow. Yesterday, it was almost 50 °F and most of the snow on the roads melted away! Such is life in Colorado.

Beatrice's Blushes: Lorenza Rosé Vertical

For the past few years my wife and I have hosted a Valentine's Day party for our friends and neighbors as a way to avoid the hassle of getting a restaurant reservation but still enjoying adult company (almost all guests have children). We usually open a few bottles of wine and play a variety of board games. Cards Against Humanity always makes an appearance and is usually the highlight (or most awkward depending on your disposition) of the evening. This year we also played Pie Face, Five Second Rule and Quelf. The only child invited was Beatrice, and she actually invited herself when she refused to be left alone in her room. As long as she was being held, she was a perfect little angel. I thank her for being my good luck charm when it was my turn on Pie Face.

Beatrice's Blushes: Bodegas Ameztoi Rubentis

Being uncomfortable is an unavoidable part of life, but it still sucks. Watching someone be in the most discomfort they've ever encountered isn't fun. You and I know that getting shots at the doctor's office isn't the worse thing in the world, but to a 10-week old it is. Going from having no real knowledge of pain to getting stuck with a large needle three times was quite a big deal to my little girl. I knew she'd be fine, but in that instance she was feeling discomfort like she'd never known.

For some reason, some people feel the same way about wine. Put anything other than mass-produced Chardonnay or Merlot in front of them and they just don't know what to think. It's just wine and it's supposed to be fun, but it can stress people out. I find it interesting that this phenomenon doesn't exist to the same extent in the beer world. Yes, Budweiser is exceptionally uncomfortable with the growth of craft beer, but that's why they've been buying craft breweries like their lives depend on it (just a few weeks ago Anheuser-Busch InBev purchased Breckenridge Brewery - just a 2.1 mile bike ride from my front door). Yet, I don't see the same sort of discomfort when beer drinkers are confronted with the choice of a brown ale, IPA, stout or a pilsner. I think beer drinkers are even more willing to try a lambic, gose, or just about any type of flavored beer than your common wine drinker would be willing to knowingly put Teroldego, Mencía, Blaufränkisch or Chambourcin into their wine glass. I can only imagine the resistance is related to language barriers and excellent marketing by the big wine producers.

Bodegas Ameztoi 2014 Rubentis

If accents and umlauts are enough to get people's panties in a bunch just imagine what kind of discomfort a completely unique language could cause. While the Bodegas Ameztoi Rubentis (11% abv, Purchased $23) is Spanish by law, it is Basque at heart. This lovely rosé hails from the Getariako Txakolina - gesundheit - region in northern Spain from the grapes Hondarrabi Zuri (50%) and Hondarrabi Beltza (50%). With all that information on the label the average wine consumer is sure to be 100% confused. If you focus on only what's in the glass, this wine is a pretty pastel pink color and slightly effervescent - just a touch more than you might find in your average Portuguese Vinho Verde. Prominent aromas of citrus and a hint of mint entice the nose. The palate is awakened by the bubbles to greet bright flavors of lemons, grapefruit, strawberries and sea salt. The Rubentis is an exceptionally refreshing wine that pairs well with anything from seafood to barbeque, or just as lovely on its own. This wine is the perfect example of why unfamiliar grapes should cause you discomfort, but may actually bring pleasure.

Beatrice's Blushes: Snowy Peaks Winery Cinsault Rosé

It is interesting how certain wines remind you of other totally unrelated wines previously consumed. The same can be said of people. Sometimes these similarities can be good things or not so good. I notice things about Beatrice that I remember happening with Ben, but I know they're completely different people. I sometimes find myself tasting a wine and think it is something else when I know it can't possibly be. I've been put off by wines that reminded me so much of something I didn't enjoy in the past, only to be surprised when the labels were revealed. But the best instances of these mistaken identities are when you taste a wine that is a dead ringer for something either rare or much more expensive. Well, this week's rosé fits into that category.

Beatrice's Blushes: Clos Cibonne Cuvée Tradition Rosé

Last month, a thread over on Wineberserkers.com about restaurant regulations people would like to see drifted into a somewhat contentious discussion revolving around banning children from restaurants. Yes, I understand crying children can be annoying to other diners, but the idea of excluding young diners from fine dining establishments is just silly. I've dined within earshot of more annoying fully grown adults than children. Our four-year-old son loves to eat seared scallop with a leek emulsion just as much as he enjoys McDonald's hamburgers. Beatrice isn't quite up to eating solid foods yet, but she has also tagged along with us to two of Denver's nicer restaurants (JaJa Bistro and Fruition) already in her first few weeks. Both times she remained quietly asleep in her carseat (and Ben was with grandparents). I don't know how the restaurant felt about Bea taking up a chair that could have seated a paying customer, but the staff at both restaurants was kind, courteous, and wanted to see the baby. If they were of a child-banishment mindset they certainly hid it well.

Beatrice's Blushes: Frisk Prickly Grenache

Beatrice is six weeks old today! She now looks more like a baby than a newborn. In fact, she's starting to outgrow some of the newborn clothes and fit into her 0-3 month outfits. Before we know it she'll be mobile and getting into trouble. I hope big brother will help us baby-proof the house when it's time, though judging by the state of his room we have some work to do.

Frisk 2011 Prickly Grenache

While looking for a rosé for this week's wine, I noticed this bottle of Frisk 2011 Prickly Grenache (11.9% abv, Sample $12) that I had forgotten about. Now seemed like as good a time as any to drink. I've had the Frisk Prickly Riesling and Prickly Rosso in the past and thought they were fun, interesting wines. The Grenache for this wine was sourced from Lodi, CA. This slight spritzy (hence the prickly moniker) is amaranth (reddish-rose) in color. The nose is not exceptionally aromatic, but there are some notes of watermelon, strawberry and pomegranate. You can taste the 0.5% residual sugar, but it is not sweet. The red fruits found on the nose meet up a slightly bitter, herbal component on the palate. It didn't seem to be at its freshest - but that's probably my fault for forgetting about it in my cellar for about two years! It actually reminded me of gin and tonic made with splash of pomegranate or strawberry bitters and maybe a dash of Chambord. It would probably be a good wine to serve to a non-wine crowd at a picnic or to use in a cocktail.

Beatrice's Blushes: Susana Balbo Crios Rosé of Malbec

It is amazing how some days seem to be unending, but when you look back how quickly time has gone by. We've now had Beatrice with us for a full month! It seems like just yesterday when she arrived. I remember the first few weeks of Ben's life seemed to go by so much slower. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas had never gone by so quickly before! Maybe having a four-year old around just makes time fly faster! Or maybe it was just the business of the holiday season. Having all of our families over to our house for the holidays was a nice way to spend Beatrice's first Christmas. Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts and Uncles all enjoyed spending time with the little girl! And as nice as seeing everyone was, a quieter house in 2016 will be a welcome change.

Crios 2014 Rosé of Malbec

This week we twisted opened a fun bottle of Susana Balbo 2014 Crios Rosé of Malbec (14.5% abv. Sample $13). Crios is Susana Balbo's fruit-forward value line brand and this rosé definitely delivers both. The grapes for this wine come from the Uco Valley in the southwest part of the Mendoza wine region in Argentina. The clear bottle shows off the deep vermilion color - almost more like a very light red than a lightly tinted rosé. It is extremely quaffable. Bright red fruit dominates the nose with aromas of raspberries, cherries and strawberries. It comes across slightly more serious on the palate with a backbone of spice and a medium body rounding out the generous red fruit flavors that keep the wine playful. At $13, this wine is a good value that should please many palates.

Beatrice's Blushes: Reichsrat von Buhl Spätburgunder Rosé Trocken

Anyone who has had children knows the first few weeks of the child's life is pretty monotonous. Sleeping, feeding and diaper changing. Repeat, but not necessarily in that order. That has pretty much been our lives for the past few weeks. One thing that we haven't had a lot of is fussing. Beatrice has been easygoing and really only fusses when I change her diapers with my cold hands. Now that her stomach is growing and she is eating more, she is starting to have a bit more gas and discomfort. However, that is usually quickly and easily resolved.

Beatrice's Blushes: Old Westminster Winery Alius

These first two weeks with Beatrice have been quite different from life as we knew it. She has been exceptionally easygoing, but taking care of two children is a whole new ballgame. Ben adores his sister more than anything, but he also now has competition for our attention. He gets his lack of patience from me, and I think having  to wait for attention has been difficult for him. For the most part he has done very well with this major change, but there have been a few issues at school. Interestingly, one of his classmates that he got in trouble with also has a brand new baby sister. Those two should have a fun-filled year ahead of them with watching their little sisters grow up!

Old Westminster Winery 2014 'Alius'

This week's Beatrice's Blushes is also something different from the usual. A skin-fermented Pinot Gris from Maryland that Old Westminster Winery calls Alius (11.3% abv, Sample). I first tasted Old Westminster's wine two years ago at the Drink Local Wine conference in Baltimore. The Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc I tasted were top notch. I was really impressed with a number of other Maryland wineries, but Old Westminster is near the head of the class.

Beatrice's Blushes: Boulder Creek Winery Dry Rosé

Welcoming a new child into a family is an awesome experience. For over four years, we've been a family of just three, but now we get to share the world with Beatrice. Big brother Ben is just completely enamored with his new little sister. He loves holding her and comforting her when she cries - which is not very often. He talks about things he wants to do with her when she is old enough. It brings a smile to my face to just think about the adventures that the future holds.

Just as my family is welcoming Beatrice into existence, the Colorado wine family is saying goodbye to one of its brightest stars. Sadly, Boulder Creek Winery is shutting down operations at the end of the year. Grape supplies and building lease issues convinced Mike and Jackie Thompson it was time to retire from their retirement project. They've been great people to get to know over the years and I've always enjoyed their wines. I'm glad that I have a small collection of Boulder Creek in my wine cellar to enjoy after they're gone. As my family starts off on this new journey, we decided to start the Beatrice's Blushes series with the only bottle of Boulder Creek Winery Dry Rosé that we had.

This 2011 Boulder Creek Winery Dry Rosé is everything I like in a pink wine. It is bone dry with tart red fruit flavors - admittedly starting to fade. There is a savory component that makes you pause for a moment to consider what types of herbs come to mind and what cured meat would be the perfect accompaniment. Thinking about how Mike and Jackie always wanted to promote dry rosés brought a smile to my face as the last drop passed from the glass, to my mouth and then down my throat to its final resting place. Thank you for all the memories and wonderful wines, Mike and Jackie (and of course Will, too). I wish you all the best of times with whatever you decide to do after you walk out of the winery building one last time.

2011 Boulder Creek Winery Dry Rosé

Beatrice's Blushes: A lost summer...

Well, it has been over four months since I've posted anything to this website. About nine months ago, my wife and I found out we were pregnant with baby number two! Ben was going to get a little sister. Wine took a back seat to completely rearranging our home and getting ready for the newest member of our family. Not drinking wine led me to posting less frequently and finally at some point I simply just stopped.

Well, I am happy to report that Ben's sister made her Thanksgiving Day debut. Mom and Baby Beatrice are home and doing well, and I'm eager to reclaim my status as a lowly wine blogger. I am going to post more regularly and give more attention to what's in the bottle and less writing about wine writing (though Dr. Oldman might make his way to the keyboard every once in a while). As I did with Ben's Bubbly and attempted to do with Ben's Blush, I want to post weekly on a specific style of wine and reflect on the first year of a child's life. So, I've decided to rebrand the weekly rosé series as Beatrice's Blushes. To restart things, I want to quickly post on a few pink wines (actually the only three) I had during the summer months when I was overlooking the blog.