So many shades of pink! Experience four new hues somewhere between pink, orange, purple, red....
Judith Beck 'Beck Pink' 2018 - (biodynamic)
A blend of Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch, this plucky pink wine is always one of the most vivacious and tart of any given year, and we love it for these qualities. The 2018 growing season was quite warm, and the Beck Pink looks to be just a bit darker than usual, perhaps it'll have an extra dash of exuberant ripe fruit? We shall see tomorrow, but we are confident we'll be fans, we always are. Judith Beck is one of Austria's most talented young growers, dedicated to biodynamic agriculture and minimal intervention in the winery. All of her wines exhibit gorgeous purity and are very reasonably priced; they are an easy choice.
Gorgo Bardolino Chiaretto 2018 - (organic)
One of our favorite Italian wine producers, Gorgo does it right. Their vineyards are certified organic and their style empahsizes freshness and drinkability. Gorgo makes one of the finest inexpensive white wines on the planet, their base-level Custoza, which is a customer and staff favorite here at Craft and Cru. We get a very limited amount of their pink Chiaretto, and we'll all get our first taste of the 2018 vintage tomorrow afternoon. We canNOT wait!
Vinca Minor Mendocino Carignan Rosé 2018 - (organic)
Jason Charles, the body and mind behind Vinca Minor, is focused on making wine in the most natural way possible: seeking organic fruit, never introducing yeast, eschewing fining and filtration, and only racking once just before bottling. He is looking, as he would say, to "explore the intersection between farmer, winemaker, and artist". Keep exploring buddy! Your wines are delish! This pink wine, from the 80-year-old dry-farmed Carignan of Mendocino's Hawkeye Ranch vineyard, is something quite special. Distinctly herbal and very light (only 11.5% abv!), with fruit flavors on the subtle and tart side, it is not the first thing one expects from pink California wine. It is, nonetheless, spectacular. Get it while you can, there is not much to go around!
Thibaud Boudignon Rosé de Loire 2017 - (organic)
"Boudignon's wines are the revelation of modern Anjou", or so say Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay in their sumptuous little tome The Sommelier's Atlas of Taste. Thus far, we have little experience with the wines of Thibaud Boudignon, but when we tasted this rosé, we knew that would change. Released last year, this 2017 is singing right now. Good pink wine is like any white or red wine; there is no reason to suspect that a year in the bottle would hurt it, in fact there are a good number of pink wines that improve for several years. In any case, this tasty blend of Cabernet Franc and Grolleau has been sitting around waiting for some love and we knew it was time to make some moves. Quite fruity, it is not a particularly subtle style, but it has a lovely mineral quality that lends freshness and earthiness. We've had it for a few weeks now, and it has already developed a fan base here, but it won't be around forever.