Wine of the Week: Elena Walch 2024 Rosé

 

There’s something about that first truly warm spring day that immediately makes me reach for rosé.  serious. That’s exactly what happened when I pulled a bottle of Elena Walch 2024 Rosé from the fridge.

I was first introduced to Elena Walch through our Winephabet Street episode, which featured Karoline Walch discussing Lagrein. One conversation was all it took for me to become intrigued by the winery, their philosophy, and the wines coming out of Alto Adige. I enjoyed the wines so much that I eventually carried both their Lagrein and Rosé at Trio North Wildwood.

Now that we are entering full-on rosé season, opening this bottle felt like the perfect way to welcome warmer weather.

In the Glass

The name alone tells you something about the precision behind this wine. "20/26" refers to the winemaking process itself: grapes are harvested at 20 degrees Babo (a measure of sugar concentration at peak ripeness), and fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a carefully controlled temperature of 26°C. 

The blend is Lagrein, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. Lagrein, Alto Adige's red grape, brings structure and depth. Pinot Noir contributes elegance and aromatic lift. Merlot rounds out the midpalate with gentle body and fruit. The winemaking uses the classic saignée method: the grape must sits briefly in contact with the skins, then the rose-colored juice is drawn off without pressing. This produces color, concentration, and texture without heaviness.

On the nose, fresh strawberry and raspberry aromas jump from the glass alongside hints of watermelon and delicate floral notes.

The palate is crisp, refreshing, and incredibly easy to drink. Bright red berry flavors lead the way with touches of citrus and a subtle minerality that keeps everything balanced and lively. There’s a freshness here that makes you immediately want another sip.

What I really enjoy about this rosé is that it manages to be refreshing while still having personality. 

What I’d Pair It With

This is the kind of rosé that belongs on the porch, by the grill, or at the beach.

Perfect pairings include:

• Grilled shrimp
• Summer salads
• Charcuterie boards
• Prosciutto and melon
• Grilled chicken
• Tuna poke
• Goat cheese
• Simply sipping it outside with friends

Honestly, this is the style of rosé that reminds you wine doesn’t have to be complicated to be memorable.

Sometimes all you need is a warm day, a chilled bottle, and good conversation.

About the Winery

Elena Walch is one of the benchmark producers of Alto Adige, located in Italy’s northernmost wine region near the Austrian border. The winery is known for combining tradition with innovation while focusing heavily on sustainability and expressing the unique alpine terroir of the region.

What makes the story even more interesting is that Elena Walch herself came from an architecture background before marrying into a wine family and eventually transforming the winery into one of Italy’s most respected estates. Today, the winery is run alongside her daughters Julia and Karoline Walch, continuing the family’s commitment to quality winemaking.

Alto Adige’s dramatic mountain landscapes, cool nights, and sunny days help create wines with vibrant acidity, freshness, and purity — qualities that absolutely shine in this rosé.

Summer of Rosé: Poe Wines

I have never been a big Rosé fan. In fact one summer I was in search of a Rosé I liked and didn't really find one.  Fast forward to this summer.  Like I always tell people, always try different wines, even if you didn't like it before because you palate is always changing.

BINGO...the past few weeks I've been trying different Rosé's and the outcome is I am really beginning to like them! They are fresh, vibrant and all different.

Poe Rosé was the first Rosé I uncorked.  Samantha Sheehan is the woman behind Poe Wines. She left the world of finance in 2009 to follow her dream, studied in Burgundy and today produces single vineyard wines that show expression of terrior.

This Rosé is a blend of 66% Pinot Noir that is sources from Olcese Vineyard in Sonoma and 34% Pinot Meunier sourced from Van der kamp Vineyard in Sonoma Mountains. Both vineyards are old vines dating back to 1953 for the Pinot Meunier and 1974 for the Pinot Noir.

The wine had a beautiful Salmon color with aromas of fresh cut strawberries and a hint of cherry on the nose. One sip and I smiled...delicate strawberry with hints of orange and a touch or raspberry filled my palate.  The wine had some nice minerality to it and a clean finish.

The SRP is $22.

If you are in New York City the Poe wines are available at restaurants like Del Friscos, Morrell & Co, Ken & Cook and others.  I would not hesitate in ordering a bottle!

Oh No - Wrong Color Bottle Closures

I am going to reveal something here before I should.  Our packaging for Happy Bitch Wines Rosé isn't the traditional wine bottle.  I mean it is as far as the bottle goes, but not the closure.  It's not a cork, but a cap...yes a bottle cap for an easy open.

We ordered our caps thank goodness with somewhat of a buffer time, just in case something should go wrong. Not that we expect anything to go wrong...but...you just can never be sure.  The caps ordered were Hot Pink.  When they were delivered Keryl opened the box AND.....OH NO- They were purple.

Now purple is my color, pink is Keryl's and the color scheme of Happy Bitch Wines.  Purple caps are not going match the outfit our Happy Bitch Wines Rosé will be wearing.  What to do?  People say when someone hands you lemons, make lemonade.  Well....

The company we purchased the caps from couldn't do enough for us.  They worked throughout the weekend, emails and .jpgs going back and forth to make purple turn pink. Although they aren't as hot pink as we would like, they will match the outfit just fine.  They arrived this past Friday, so we are all set.

QUESTION: What do we do with all these purple caps?  This is where our customers are going to benefit.  We are throwing in a bunch of purple caps when we bottle this week.  If you are one of the lucky people to purchase a bottle with a purple cap, you will receive a special gift from us at Happy Bitch Wines.  It could be a set of glasses, a shirt, the Happy Bitch Book or some other Happy Bitch Wines gift. We will have posted on our website instructions on how to claim your prize with your purple cap on November 1st.  Why November 1st - well - October 20th is our launch party where you'll see the bottle perfectly dressed and get to taste it but November 1st is when it will be available in the wine stores in your neighborhood.

You're Invited to the Launch of Happy Bitch Wines

This is your personal invitation from me to the event we've all been waiting for, the launch of Happy Bitch Wines Rosé.

We've put a lot of hard work, consideration and detail into this wine, the bottle, the label, the closure and asked you to choose what is now the first vintage of Happy Bitch Wines Rosé.  Now come and be a part of the celebration!  Celebrate with us!

The Grandview in Poughkeespie is conveniently located just up the street from the Poughkeepsie Metro North Station.

$10 from every ticket sold will benefit the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation.

I hope you to see you at Launch Party on October 20th!

In Search of Rosé - Shinn Estate Rosé

My summer has been kind of hectic and jumbled and I haven't had time to road trip to Long Island like I try to do at least once.  Recently a friend of mine went out to the North Fork for a few days to wine taste and I told him to stop at Shinn and pick me up their 2010 Rosé. I wanted to try it in my quest.

He did and I opened it last week.  Their 2010 Rosé didn't disappoint.  I really liked the color of this Rosé. I know it is hard to see in the picture, maybe I should have taken it indoors, but it was pink with orange undertones.  A beautiful color.

The wine had aromas of floral and stone.  The palate was full of strawberry leading to raspberries, a beautiful soft mouth feel (very elegant) and a dry finish.  As the wine warmed up a little bit there was some watermelon on the finish.

We had this wine on a Tuesday evening which is CSA pickup.  We prepared some pasta and fresh veggies to go with the wine. A very fitting meal to go with a Shinn Vineyards wine.

I really liked the wine.  I give it a thumbs up and a WO\  on the WOW meter.

In Search of Rosé - De Rosa Rosé

Sitting out on the deck discussing the Hudson Valley Wine Competition with John and Michael, John uncorked a 2010 De Rosa Rosé from Roanoke Vineyards he recently purchased on a trip to Long Island Wine Country.  I was so excited because I am in search of Rosé and haven't been able to get to the North Fork.  So I grabbed phone for the picture and my notebook for the tasting notes.

This Rosé is from Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island - better known as "Long Island Wine Country."  It is a blend of 60% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Chardonnay.  That's quite a blend.  It has .5% residual sugar and was tank fermented.

The color on this Rosé was a pale salmon.  If I was to purchase this wine based on color, I would have overlooked it.  I like my Rosé a little more pinkish.  Maybe that's the girl in me.  I am also wondering if the Chardonnay had any effect on the palish color.

The wine had aromas of orange peel, grenache and roses leading the way to a crisp palate with fresh citrus fruits and hints of raspberry. The finish was a little bitter.

This wine sells for $18.

I am still waiting for that WOW factor.

In Search of Rosé - Windsor Vineyards Rosé of Merlot

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Windsor Vineyards as I search for a Rosé that I like.

It was a hot day when I uncorked this Rosé the 2010 Windsor Vineyards, Alexander Valley Rosé of Merlot and I must say, it was quite refreshing.  I was surprised at the dark strawberry color of the wine.  Almost a Pinot Noir like.

The nose was filled with earth and cigar some kir and hints of raspberry and bit of citrus hiding in all that.  I often find with wines that are chilled you have to enjoy the aroma at different points in time to receive the full notes of what is in the bouquet as I did with this wine.

On the palate I tasted cranberry and jamming strawberry.  This is a very fruity wine with a long lingering strawberry finish.  When I say long and lingering, I still had the strawberry finish on my palate after 5 minutes.  I'm not complaining, but after I finished the glass, I was cooking dinner and still had flavors of strawberry still lingering in my mouth.

This wine retails for $14.

While this Rosé was nice, I did enjoy it, but I am still waiting for the WOW factor.

In Search of Rosé - SIN

Friends of ours Dave and Mary, invited us over one Sunday afternoon  to taste SIN - Summer in Napa, A Rosé wine produced by Trefethen Family Vineyards.  Mary knows I am in search of Rosé this summer and they belong to the Trefethen wine club and it was wonderful that they thought to share this selection with us.  Tasting was complete with Trefethen glasses, the only item missing was the view of vineyards from the back deck.

SIN - Summer in Napa is a Rosé of Pinot Noir. Bright strawberry color that goes along with the bouquet of fresh strawberries was achieved by soaking on the skins for 12 hours.

This nicely balanced wine had flavors of fresh cranberry and strawberry.    The long finish of fresh strawberry lingered on your palate.

This was a nice refreshing Rosé that was perfect on a hot summer afternoon.  Thank you Dave and Mary for inviting us over and introducing us to an afternoon of Trefethen.

In Search of Rosé - Domaine Couly Dutheil Rosé

In continuing on my search for a good Rosé I purchased this 2009 Domaine Couly Dutheil Rosé from Arlington Wines & Liquor.  It was on sale at $17.09, but regular price is $18.99.  Strange price, right.  This wine is from the central Loire Valley in France, region of Touraine, appellation of Chinon. Interesting fact that Rosé de Loire must use at least 30% of either Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine is a Rosé of Cabernet Franc.  I thought this should be good, I love Cabernet Franc. On the bouquet I found sweet aromas of red berries, and tart cranberry.  As the wine warmed up the aromas turn to red berry punch.

On the palate I got red berries, cranberry and a little minerally with a dry finish.  Nothing is strikingly jumping out at me.  It's very monolithic.

Continuing my search............

In Search of Rosé

I'm searching for a Rosé this summer that I like, it's my summer mission.  I begin with Celler el Masroig Les Sorts 2009 Rosat.

This Rosé is a blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Carignan. This bold ruby color Rosé had a nose of raspberry, hints of floral and minerals. I did not get much fruit on the taste.  Some hints of watermelon and tart cran raspberry.

This Rose is priced between $10 - $15.  I got it "on sale" at Arlington Wines & Liquors for $9.99 

I continue my search......

In Search of Rosé

I have to tell you I am not a big Rosé fan.  I think it's because of a perception I have of Rosé from many years ago.  In March I tasted a Rosé from Benmarl Winery and I liked it very much.

With that being said - this summer my mission is to find a Rosé that I like!  I am going to be tasting Rosé from all over the world.  New York, California, Chile, France etc...

Saturday at the Arlington Wines & Liquor Grand Tasting I purchased a few different Rosé wines from various regions of the world in various price ranges.  I welcome your suggestions to help me on my quest to find a Rosé that I like.