If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know I am a Francophile. Paris was the best city I visited while studying abroad, I’m practicing my (very horrendous) French on Duolingo every morning, and I think I’ve watched most of the French language options on Netflix. One French thing I haven’t experienced is Bastille Day. For those of you not in the know, Bastille Day which is also called la Fête nationale is the national holiday that celebrates both the turning point of the French revolution on July 14th, 1789 and the unity of the French people exactly a year later. It’s like our 4th of July except from what I’ve heard, the French party a little harder than we do. My cousin went several years ago and said people stayed up late into the night, the subways were overflowing, and everyone was in a great yet kind mood. It’s something I’d like to see one day, but until then, I’ll just open a bottle of French wine on July 14th every year.
Although now seems to be the season where more white and rosé wine end up on the dinner table, I am always happy to open a Pinot Noir. All the way back in December, I received a bottle of the 2016 Arrogant Frog Pinot Noir as well as a cute little frog statue to sit on my desk while I type away. Comprised of 100% Pinot Noir, this inky wine was full of dark red berries like black cherries and raspberries. In addition to the fruity nose, on the palate it had some hint of spice to it and a firm backbone of acidity. While I wouldn’t necessarily liken this wine to an arrogant frog, I could totally imagine sitting outside around noon by a creek in the late autumn as frogs croak in the background. If that doesn’t sound appealing, just think of your ideal scenario to open a bottle with wine friends and regular friends alike. That’s where you should open this bottle. From my experience with Arrogant Frog, these are meant to be fun, and at $9.99, the price point makes these wines easily accessible to anyone of legal drinking age. Go out and buy a bottle already.
The other bottle I opened more recently was the 2017 Côté Mas Rosé Aurore. This wine was part of a #WineStudio session, and as we discussed the wine, we also spoke about the concept of luxe rural. The idea behind it is to find the simple pleasures in life. For the winemaker Jean-Claude, that means wine, cuisine, art, and nature. For me, it’s probably food, wine, a good book, and maybe some ice cream. That’s what this wine embodies; it’s like a friend who may not be the prettiest, smartest, or quickest person in the room, yet has an easy and confident demeanor that trumps everything else. Made up of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, and 20% Syrah, on the palate this had very forward flavors of berries, particularly strawberry, hints of white aromatic flowers, and a touch of minerality that gave it some personality and jump. Undeniably a house wine, it is still a simple yet wholly satisfying rosé from Languedoc that is meant for pouring out a glass for friends. That’s the whole reason it boasts an affordable SRP of $12.99 for a 1-liter bottle. If you’re not sharing, the bottle holds up well if placed in the fridge for around a week after opening it.
So, if you’re not in France today (or if you are!), open up a bottle of wine to share with friends and enjoy the rest of your evening. Assuming either of these two bottles caught your eye, check out Les Domains Paul Mas website, which makes both of the ones I mentioned above or check out some of my older posts about these brands here and here. Cheers!
These wines were kindly provided to me by the wineries/importers listed above, but all opinions are my own.
A Famished Foodie 