Endless Crush Rosé 2013

Finally got my act back together (meaning I stopped being lazy and procrastinating) and am ready to introduce you to the wonders of rosé!

Earlier this year I had the good fortune to meet Kathleen Inman, the owner and winemaker of Inman Family Wines in Russian River Valley, while she was in San Antonio. Getting to meet and chat with friendly, passionate winemakers is one of the things I love most about my job. So combining those invariably interesting conversations with really great wines makes me a very happy little girl. I had heard that Inman’s natural and environmentally responsible winemaking style produced well-balanced, terroir-driven wines so it was awesome getting to taste that for myself. We sampled the Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Endless Crush Rosé, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Olivet Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir and Thorn Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir. They were excellent: the Chardonnay was crisp and bright, the Pinot Noirs were simply elegant with subtle, unique differences in each, but it was the Endless Crush Rosé that I fell head over heels for.

This exceptional wine is made predominately from organically grown Pinot Noir from their Olivet Grange Vineyard in Russian River Valley. An “intentional” rosé (rather than one made with the run-off juices from red wines, the saignée method), first made in ‘04 to celebrate her and her husband’s 20^th anniversary.  It is a delicious dry wine with red cherry, strawberry and floral notes on the nose, followed by refreshing strawberry, orange zest and watermelon flavors balanced by crisp acidity, hints of honeysuckle and spice that linger pleasantly on the finish.

Endless Crush is one of the most elegant and unique rosés I’ve ever tasted, I am thrilled that we finally have it in our wine set. It’s especially perfect for these ridiculously hot days we’ve had in Texas lately. Plus it has a pretty label! That way if you wind up not liking the wine (which is highly unlikely), you’ll have a pretty empty bottle… so no matter what you win! That is, assuming I’m not the only weirdo who keeps empty wine bottles to use as home decorations. Anyways! You should start walking at a very brisk pace to find this wine at Whole Foods Quarry in San Antonio.