The Great Rose Pairing at CIA Copia

Experience Rose at CIA – Copia

Summer wine and food events are abundant around the Napa Valley during the summer months. One of the more unique and refreshing events which took place at the CIA at Copia this summer was The Great Rosé Pairing held this summer at CIA at Copia. Rosé and other pink wines have accelerated in popularity over the past several years with many wineries adding a Rosé style to their wine portfolios. Pink Wines from all over the US and the globe were represented at this lively, colorful event.

Experience Rosé: The Competition Director, Debra Del Fiorentino, describes the growing passion for Rosé: “Right now, we are in what I call “The Rosé Revolution” here in the US. We’ve finally learned what Italy and France have known for ages and we’re jumping on the Rosé bandwagon. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome of this year’s event. This competition had all the right elements in play and took off at an astronomical pace in terms of entries and interests. The timing was just right.”

Rosé is a type of wine that extrapolates its pink color from limited contact with grape skins and is one of the oldest known types of wine. The pink color can range from a pale “onion-skin” orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the varietals used and winemaking techniques. There are three major ways to produce rosé wine: skin contact, saignée, and blending. Rosé wines can be made still, semi-sparkling or sparkling and with a wide range of sweetness levels from highly dry Provençal rosé to sweet White Zinfandels and blushes. Rosé wines are made from many different grape varietals and can be found all around the globe, as was represented at the event at The Great Rosé Pairing event.

The event in its fifth year, formerly known as Rosé Today also showcased paired tasty bites created by various teams of CIA student chefs, offering cuisine from six major Rosé producing regions: France, Spain, Italy, as well as Northern, Central and Southern California.

The Six Culinary teams from around the region and the world participated in the paired cuisine:

Team Spain – Pulpo de Maria alla Coggiola
Team Italy – Pesce Marinato and Negroni Macaron
Team France – Ratatouille and Lemon Mascarpone French Crêpes
Team Northern California – Mt. St. Tomato (Sundried tomato crackers with Humboldt Fog and Ricotta mousse topped with jellied consommé cube and a sundried basil and chili infused olive oil snow)
Team Southern California – Southern California Fusion Fish Tacos
Team Central California – Burrata with Nectarine Compote on a Garlic Rubbed Crostini and Burnt Honey and Tarragon Ricotta on a Lemon Herb Cracker and Nectarine Compote

The winning culinary team: Team Spain with “Pulpo de Maria alla Coggiola”

The rosé cocktails and refreshers that were prepared featured the Hangar 1 Rosé Vodka:

Team 1: Spritzer — Stop and Smell Rosé / Cocktail — Peach of My Heart
Team 2: Spritzer — The Golden State / Cocktail — Summer Mule

Winning Refresher: Stop and Smell the Rosé (Team #1)

Winning Cocktail: Summer Mule (Team #2)

The Great Rose Pairing offered 25 wineries pouring their Rose varietals during the event at CIA at Copia, including:

DRAXTON WINES, 2017 Draxton Pinot Meunier (Best in Show)
LAZY CREEK VINEYARDS, 2017 Rosé of Pinot Noir (Double Gold)
SIMPLE LIFE, 2017 Rosé (Double Gold)
DOMAINE LAURIER, NV Brut Rosé (Gold, Best of Class)
FLEUR DE MER, 2017 Cotes de Provence Rosé (Gold, Best of Class)
NICHELINI FAMILY WINERY, 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé (Gold, Best of Class)
Alexander Valley Vineyards, 2017 Dry Rosé of Sangiovese (Gold)
Blue Sky Vineyard, 2017 Rosé (Gold)
Domaine Anderson, 2017 Rosé of Pinot Noir (Gold)
Ferrari-Carano 2017 Dry Rosé of Sangiovese (Gold)
Fillmore West Vineyards, 2017 Rosé of Pinot Noir (Gold)
Galena Cellars Vineyard and Winery, NV Chambourcin Rosé (Gold)
Handley Cellars, 2017 Pinot Noir Rosé (Gold)
Illinois Sparkling Co., 2016 Brut Rosé de Saignée (Gold)
J Vineyards, NV Brut Rosé (Gold)
Kokomo, 2017 Grenache Rosé (Gold)
Le Grand Courtage, NV Brut Rosé (Gold)
Marilyn Wines, 2017 Marilyn Monroe Rosé (Gold)
Mathis Wine, 2017 Rosé de Grenache (Gold)
Moshin Vineyards, 2017 Rosé of Pinot Noir (Gold)
Muscardini Cellars, 2017 Rosato de Sangiovese (Gold)
Red Car, 2017 Rosé of Pinot Noir (Gold)
Twelve Oaks Vineyard (Gold)
Wilson of Dry Creek, 2017 Dorothy’s Rosé (Gold)

Below is the recipe for the winning cocktail of the day (voted on by attendees) – the Summer Mule. It featured the Hangar 1 Rosé Vodka.

RECIPE FOR SUMMER MULE

(created by Kenny Belgard and Parker James, students from The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone’s Wine and Beverage program)

2 parts ginger beer
1 part Hangar 1 Rosé Vodka
1 part Rosé wine
Mint for muddling
.25 parts lime juice (We had our limes pre-juiced because of time, but it would be better if fresh limes were used. Use 1/4 lime per drink)
.25 parts Perfect Puree: Red Raspberry (local Napa product – may not need .25 parts – we did to taste)
Garnish with raspberry halve and lime segment

Muddle the lime and mint together. Strain the mint/lime juice mixture into a mixing glass. Add vodka, rose, and raspberry puree. Mix. Pour into iced glass and top with ginger beer. Mix again and garnish.

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