Rose Wine, Cigars and Pizza

This is the summer of Rose for me.  I have tasted and drank more Rose than I have in all the years I've been drinking wine.  The one thing about this summer is I've learned to appreciate Rose. I've been pairing the wine with many different dishes.

Masi Agricola 2015 Rosa dei Masi is no exception. I first got introduced to the Masi wines at a Amarone tasting at the New York City Public Library a few years ago. The "head" of the Masi family could double as my father-in-law, and yes he is Italian.This is the first Rose I've tasted from the family.

What is unique to Masi's Rose is that they use the appassimeto method to concentrate the aromas and flavors in the wine.  This Rose was made with 100% Refosco which is a dark skinned grape native to the Venetian region.

The first pairing with this wine was Paul and his cigar.  I am not a cigar woman so I leave that to him. He said his cigar went nicely with the Rose.

The 2015 Rose dei Masi was an exquisite rich pink color. It displayed itself and its personality well in the glass.  Fruity aromas filled the glass expressing strawberry and red berry fruit. Flavors of fresh strawberry, raspberries and cherries filled my mouth with a slight lemon lime on the finish.  The wine was nicely balanced with a long finish.

I went out of the box and paired this with a homemade grilled margarita pizza. Honestly the Rose held up to it.  The pizza wasn't overpowering the wine. This is a very nice Rose and reasonably priced at $14.99