 |
| Tschida “Birdscape” Pink Maceration Burgenland 2023 Lichtenberger-González “Rot und Weiss” Burgenland 2018 Kindred Spirits “Loop de Loop” Columbia George 2021 Pouzin “Vice Versa” Vin de France 2023 Akilia “Clarete” Bierzo 2023 |
| I don’t know about you but the past couple of weeks have found me hunkered down in my air-conditioned bunker feeling spiritually wrung out, the brain-addling heat fierce and unremitting. I’m running out of provisions and my bunker in a lonely place, so I sent up the periscope to peer outside and view the Madmax hellscape, and do you know what—it’s not that hellish today. Perhaps it’s time to venture out for some wine if I could only find some to drink, but with an addled brain it’s impossible to determine if I’m thirsty for white, red, or rosé. So, the answer is: yes.
Tonight, we’re tasting wines that are either co-fermentations of red and white grapes, or blends of the same. All are light, dry, and we will serve them cold. We are pouring two wines from Burgenland, the once but no longer disrespected Rodney Dangerfield of Austria, one of which is literal mindedly named “rot und weiss,” red and white. Another wine we’re pouring is a “clarete,” an informal category for Spanish red wines that fail to conform to regional expectations and are pale when they should be dark red (from either short macerations or the addition of white grapes); it tastes startlingly like jamaica but without any of the sugar. And then two other co-fermentations, one from the Columbia Gorge, part of which sits on the skins for an extended period so it’s a bit of a red, white, and orange wine all in one; the other is a co-ferm from the south of France containing that great red underdog, cinsault, but also viognier, a grape that too often tastes unctuous and old-fashioned but here adds perfume and delicacy. |