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Please Be Vine, Rosé Bubbles! #WinePW

 

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This month, Camilla from Culinary Cam has invited us all to share our love for rosé wines – which are not just for summer! – and, since it’s February, to put a little romantic spin on things. You can read her invitation here and follow along the discussion on Saturday, February 10 at 8am EST / 11am CST on Threads. 

I’m not much of a rosé girl myself; but bubbles are a completely different story! So, since I couldn’t think of any particularly romantic food options (the dessert I did being the exception perhaps), I decided to go romantic with my wines! Hello, Greek traditional method bubbles. 

PDO Amyndeon (ΠΟΠ Αμύνταιο)

Macedonia is Greece’s northernmost region. More or less anyway; one could make an argument that the far east corner of neighboring Thrace extends slightly more north. Macedonia  stretches from the Pindos mountain range in the west to Thrace in the east. And while that makes it one of the closest regions to me in Istanbul, it’s rather a pain to access. But I digress…

The region is home to four PDOs and 24 (!!) PGIs and while many different grapes grow here, the undisputed king is Xinomavro. Especially in Amyndeo. Not only is it the northernmost zone where Xinomavro grows, it also has the highest average elevation. Covering the southeastern part of the Florina district, Amyndeo sits on a plateau with altitudes ranging from 570m to 750m. It is characterized by sandy soils, the Vegoritida and Petron lakes, and is girded by three mountains all over 2,000m in height: the Vermio, Vitsi, and Voras.

PDO Amyndeon is a Xinomavro only zone – other grapes need not apply here! It allows for dry red, rosé, and sparkling wines. I have heard before Xinomavro (Ξινόμαυρο) compared to Italy’s Nebbiolo. Not only are they both northern grapes, they both yield powerful and often tannic wines with a deceptive light color. Xinomavro is finicky and demanding, requiring just the right terroir with careful cultivation, low yields, and the right weather conditions in order to shine. 

Domaine Karanika Cuvée Rosé Brut, 2021

Founded by Laurens M. Hartman-Karanika and his wife, Annette van Kampen, Domaine Karanika came about when this wine-passionate couple became fed up with “Parkerized” wines. In 2004, they moved from a life in publishing with one goal: to create world-class organic sparkling wines using only the traditional method.

Their decision to settle in Macedonia and work with Xinomavro did not come at the beginning of their journey. They spent years studying viticulture, winemaking, and oenology in Europe and the US. Still unsure of where to settle, they considered options ranging from Australia to Germany. Through their explorations and studies, they came to know Xinomavro and fell in love with this grape, leading them to Amyndeo. 

They embraced a commitment to utilizing only completely natural methods and tools, all while demanding wines of pristine clarity and elegance, a hallmark of their sparkling creations. They also embraced a deep commitment to the environment and adopted biodynamic practices from the beginning. Rather than synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, they use ‘homeopathic’ sprays and cultivate cover crops, fostering soil biodiversity. By blending horse manure, straw, hay, vineyard cuttings, grape skins, and lees, they also created their own compost.

Domaine Karankia makes several sparkling wines with Xinomavro. The Cuvée Rosé Brut blends 98% Xinomavro with 2% Limniona. Whole bunch pressed, made in the traditional method, rested on the lees for 9-18 months (which is a big gap and I’d really like to know where this fell), then disgorged in February 2023.

This is a wine that I keep gong back to. I buy at least one of Karanika’s bubbles every trip to Athens, but I particularly like this one. Its enchantment begins as soon as you pour the deep bronzey-pink wine and catch the aromas of strawberries and raspberries sprinkled over with brown sugar. Tiny bubbles burst on the tongue, releasing intense sweet-savory flavors of balsamic glazed roasted strawberries along with fresh strawberries and raspberries. 

To pair with the wine, I took inspiration from Robin’s Tempting Spoonfuls books and made two little spoon appetizers; one with Thai shrimp and the other an angel hair pasta with dried cranberries and pistachios. For the main, I made Chaucer’s sweet garlic and herb tart (from The Book of Old Tarts) with a mixed green and goat cheese salad, and dessert was simple chocolate covered strawberries. The Thai shrimp totally killed the wine but the little pasta bites were glorious with the cranberries kicking up the sweet fruit flavor in the wine. The tart and salad paired very well (although nothing earthshattering), and with the chocolate strawberry everything tasted so much more intensely strawberry. All in all, not so bad. 

Kir Yianni Scaperdas Fréres, NV

And because when sharing wine, one bottle is never enough, we opened a second bottle of rosé bubbles! This one, from Scaperdas Frères, a creation of Kir Yianni dedicated entirely to traditional method sparkling wines. This off-shoot of the larger the (considerably) larger estate takes its name and inspiration from founder Stelios Boutaris’s mother’s great-grandfather Spyridon Scaperdas, who lived in Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Made with 100% Xinomavro, grapes were whole bunch pressed then fermented and aged for 6 months in oak barrels. After the second (in the bottle) fermentation, the wine remained on its wine lees for 48 months. The bottle I got was disgorged in July of 2022, giving it a little bottle ageing time as well.

All that time on the lees gave the wine a strong autolytic character evident on the nose in a mélange of yeasty raspberries and honey. A soft, creamy mousse filled the mouth with flavors of balsamic, red berries, and brown sugar, and, as the foam subsided, leaving behind a sense of richly caramelized fruits. Similar sounding to the Karanika, but without that wine’s savory notes. 

Valentine Rosé Love Continues!

Don’t forget to check out the romantic rosés and wine pairings suggested by the other #WinePW group!

• A Dozen Rosés for Valentines and Galentines Part 1: 6 Old World Wines + Croque Monsieur
• and Part 2: 6 CA Wines + Monte Cristo Sandwiches by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley
• Is Pink Wine the New Winter White? by My Full Wine Glass
• Kimchi Spaghetti with Black Girl Magic Rosé by Cooking Chat
• Marry Me Chicken and Cantina Zaccagnini Il Vino Dal Tralcetto Rose; A Perfect Pairing for your Valentine by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pink Pét-Nats from Around the World with Some Loved Up Bites by Culinary Cam
• Please Be Vine, Rosé Bubbles! by The Quirky Cork
• Rose-shaped pasta and Rosé! by Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Salmon en Papillote with Coopers Hawk Katie Lee Biegel Rosé by Our Good Life
• Shrimp Scampi Pizza Paired with Masciarelli Montepulciano Rosé by Vino Travels