Finally, the Spring allergies have given me a break. I've not posted since March because I could not appreciate any of the red wines while the Columbia Valley was in bloom, and I do love Washington red wines.
Once Spring begins, the desert rejoices - Sagebrush (persia tridentata is my favorite - part of the rose family) bloom with aromatic yellow flowers, Phlox, Lupins, Tumble Mustard can be found everywhere and of course all of the domesticated plants/trees are blooming too, including the Cottonwood trees and Russian olive trees. I have not narrowed down the culprit(s), but they are out there.
Once Spring arrives in the Columbia Valley, my ability to appreciate red wines evaporates. All I can sense is tart and bitter. Not good descriptors for red wine. And yes, I am still biased to the red wines. I can still appreciate the white wines when my smeller is off, and I sure did drink more whites than reds this spring.
The dry Rosé wines were especially good. My two picks this time of year are Rosé wines from the Barnard Griffin winery and the Hedges Family Estate winery. These are dry pink wines. Very easy to enjoy on a hot day and also very refreshing. I've discovered that at the end of a long day, when I'm tired, stressed and a bit over-heated, either of these Rosé wines calm me down and put me into a positive frame of mind.
The Barnard Griffin Rosé is a Rosé of Sangiovese, and has been awarded three gold medals this year, at three different tasting competitions. Wow!
I have several other posts to add, but will take a break for the moment - a rather loud and bright thunderstorm is passing by. Don't want to crash at this time.
Cheers!