Some wines have a unique ability to trigger our olfactory memories and send us straight back to a place and time in our history. In this wine, I found dried cranberry and sweet baking spices that brought me back to my childhood home with Christmas potpourri bowls that wafted their sweet scents between our kitchen and living room. This wine is made by Maria Chiancola, a retired teacher who took on a second career and opened Newport Wine Cellar & Gourmet in Rhode Island. Selling wine wasn’t enough so she started working with California vineyards to purchase fruit and started making wine which she sells nationally from her store. I found that I like this wine with a slight chill. Consider putting it in your fridge 15 minutes before opening.
Tipsy Rose, Calaveras County, Sierra Foothills (California) Grenache 2018
By Vince Simmon