2015 Helix Columbia Valley Rose

Happy Sunday!  It's been unbelievably hot and humid here, today it's 91 and 69% humidity which makes it feel like 104!  I had to laugh last week when I was in California and a couple at the hotel were complaining about how humid it was that day and the humidity was only 31%!  They had no idea what heat and humidity were!  Although I immediately start sweating when I go outside, the only good thing is that we are smack dab in the heart of rose season, and tonight I've opened a bottle that's been sitting here for a couple months - I promised not to open it since it was shipped to me so close to bottling and it needed to settle, so I couldn't open it until at least the 4th of July, but you know how patient I can be!  This latest wine for the Summer of Rose is the 2015 Helix Columbia Valley Rose from the Reininger Winery in Walla Walla.

The wine is a deep pink color in the glass that makes it almost look like a red wine.  The nose presents aromas of watermelon, strawberry and cut grass, with just a hint of citrus along with some floral notes of rose petals.  The taste is lovely, with some fresh fruit notes up front, strawberry and some bright citrus that transitions to some wonderful mineral notes midpalate.  The finish is crisp and very dry, perfect for a warm summer evening on the patio.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a great summer rose with a lot of complexity and a great value at under $20!  This would be a great summer salad wine, perfect for fresh greens or a nice caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil.  But tonight I'm going a more traditional Pacific Northwest route and am enjoying this wine with an alder planked wild Alaska coho salmon filet with lemon and fresh dill along with some steamed basmati rice and oven roasted Brussels sprouts.  The crispness of the wine is a perfect accent to the richness of the salmon.  Cheers!