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| Tenuta de Melis “Bardasace” Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2022 $22 Cirelli “Anfora” Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2022 $34 Pettinella “Tauma” Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2022 $51 Amorotti Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2021 $51 COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico 2021 $36 |
| Back in the day, red wine was unmistakably RED, dammit—girls were girls and men were men—and it bore little resemblance to the pantywaist, pale hipster red wines that call themselves red and now fill our shelves and emotions; rosé was unmistakably pale pink, coppery salmon, peach, or œil de perdrix in color. However, on the Adriatic coast of Italy, winemakers have long produced either an exceptionally light red or very dark pigmented rosato that they happily confuse us with by referring to it as “Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo,” or the cherry-colored wine of Abruzzo. But what is this wine: is it a dark rosé or a light red? The answer is yes. To complicate matters further, another Italian wine named cerasuolo hails from the southwest of Sicily, Cerasuolo di Vittoria. This cerasuolo is typically light-bodied, but much more darkly pigmented than any that an Abruzzese would recognize as such.
All of this begs the question: Is there an absolute, categorical definition of rosé wine, or is it simply a convenient, nominal category that we apply to certain wines? Appellation or denomination-controlled wines have various requirements regarding this; if you choose to make a dark-pigmented rosé, your friendly local appellation tasting panel may decide to reject it for not conforming to their ideal type. The denomination proctors will forbid displaying the appellation name on your labels, but perhaps you’re OK with that. Outside of trade regulations, often driven by wine politics, there is no categorical imperative regarding the indexicality of rosé, or for that matter, cerasuolo. The truth is that both sorts of cerasuolo are perfect wines with which to enjoy Thanksgiving supper. We’re tasting five different cerasuoli tonight—four quite different Cerasuoli d’Abruzzo, and one Cerasuolo di Vittoria. The Bardasace is light, juicy, and neon pinkish red, whereas the Cirelli, aged in terracotta amphora, is more savory and somehow more delicate. The two Abruzzese wines that follow are some of the most compelling we’ve tried and would age beautifully in your wine fridge if you could keep your hands and lips off them. To finish, a vibrant Cerasuolo di Vittoria from COS, one of the pioneers of natural winemaking in Sicily. |