Gorgeous days call for drinking pink. And let’s be clear that doesn’t just mean summer (as a wine comrade and I always muse “January is a perfect season for rosé”), but with beautiful weather and barbeques upon us, we must get our pink on.

The color of rosé gets a bad rap from our white zinfandel “friends” who gave us blush wine, but this isn’t Aunt Jane’s sweet, pink juice … and thanks to the wine lords for that (thanks Bacchus and Meditrina, you two rock!). I’m not here to entice you with the technicalities of rosé; you can look that up here. I am here to share a one stop shop rosé for the weekend and the rest of the summer that is not to be missed.

We all know about Murphy’s Law, where “if it can go wrong it will” but there is nothing going wrong with the Murphy’s Law wines. Murphy’s Law is made by Owen Roe winemaker David O’Reilly, who has a deft hand in showcasing all the glory the Pacific Northwest has to offer. And in a world where most American rosés don’t deliver the best pink goods, the 2008 vintage of Murphy’s Law rosé gives pink a good name.

Being Murphy’s Law (and David O’Reilly) the 2008 vintage uses grapes from Washington and Oregon (and if you can, why not use grapes from both states) but these grapes aren't all of your usual suspects from these two fine growing wine worlds. The predominant grape is Counoise (COON-wahz), one that you don’t hear much about, allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and usually not seen outside the Rhône. Other than a bit of Grenache and Blaufränkisch (another grape to keep your palates peeled for, considering this article), the rest of the 2008 Murphy’s Law consists of Pinot Noir, which makes sense given Mr. O’Reilly's success with the grape. Yeah, yeah, yeah... it's rosé (and American rosé at that) ... so how does it taste? Holy juicy plums and spices this is good! A perfect balance of strawberries, plums and spice is complemented by a crisp and lively acidity that dances on the palate.

Why this rosé? It gives you all the perfect nuances of the reds you love (and ones you’ll learn to love), delivers an acidity to act as an aperitif and plays nice with food. From pork, vegetables, cheese, and chicken there is no reason you should not immediately begin to drink this pink. Cheers!

Grapes of Life Blog