Monday, August 18, 2008

Drank Last Night: Dr. Frank Dry Rose

Alicia just spent 10 days up at her family's house on Keuka Lake. A few years ago, we were up visiting Keuka and had the opportunity to do a little wine tasting. The area is so beautiful. Unfortunately, many of the wines, while also beautiful, run to the sweet and cloying.

The Keuka winery with probably the most national recognition is Dr. Konstantin Frank. Good friend that she is, Alicia brought me a gift back from her vacation: a bottle of Dr. Frank's "Dry Rose". (She collected presents for other friends, too, but mine was definitely the best, unless you're counting on a funniness scale. Bill got a Red Stripe bar mirror. It's pretty awesome, but possibly not as useful as a bottle of wine.)

Anyway. Cooper and I drank the rose last night with enchiladas. Not the most likely pairing, but as it turns out, a really good one. The wine is a deep hot pink and has an intensely fruity nose - so much so that I was concerned that it wouldn't actually live up to its "dry" name. But after even one sip, I knew I was wrong. It's dry, all right, but balanced with a fairly rich fruit flavor. It has more in common with a red than a white, I'd say. While not overly acidic, I found it nicely balanced overall.

And a really great match for the enchiladas. Because the wine has a lot of flavor, it stood up to the also very flavorful enchiladas, while a milder wine would've gotten lost. At the same time, it didn't overpower, and it was refreshing enough to counteract the enchildada's spiciness.

The more rose I drink this summer, the more I think they are, as a family, an absolutely perfect match for meals. I'm going to be hard pressed to give them up for my winter reds once summer is over.

And, just because, some pictures of the lake. This is Alicia's house, taken from the end of the pier (that's Mike waving):



And this is typical. Me, helping Cooper clean up after a bit of an altercation involving a melty slab of brie and a certain friend who shall remain nameless:



I think he even had brie in his eyelashes. Again, typical.

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