Grochau Cellars Joyride Rosé
By David Keck
With the heat of August upon us, all we want to drink over here are bubbles. And sometimes those bubbles are pink and delicious and made by really nice people in Oregon.
On your way to the river, it’d behoove you to grab a bottle of the Joyride Sparkling Rosé from Grochau Cellars.
John Grochau got excited about wine while bicycle racing for a French team. He then returned to his hometown of Portland to work in the restaurant business for 14 years. From there to winemaking, John crafts wines that lean toward culinary application and exhibit a solid foundation in making delicious wines.
The sparkling rosé category is truly one of the most glorious in the world of beverages and this is the perfect time to enjoy them. Actually, they’re good any time of year, but there is something about August that screams for that combination of fruit, savory element, and refreshing chuggability. This one is high on the chuggability scale.
The ‘Joyride’ is made in the Charmat method (similar to Prosecco, basically gaining bubbles in a pressurized tank during secondary fermentation) from 95% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Blanc. They make only 470 cases and over here at the VT Wine Shepherd we locked down a healthy amount of that, so now is the time to crush some delicious bubbles and enjoy the dog days of summer!