By and large, when the word “Tempranillo” is spoken, most wine-minds go immediately to the hearty red wines (vino tinto) of the Spanish Rioja or Texas High Plains wine regions. For today’s celebration, however, we are going to taste something special in Tempranillo: A Rosé wine (vino rosado) that is also a sparkling wine (vino espumoso). It is a special offering from Jon McPherson, Javier Flores and Emily Bloom, the winemakers at Carter Creek Winery and Resort. It’s their Tempranillo Sparkling Rosé, Texas High Plains, NV.
To illustrate the “specialness” of this wine, it comes with both Reserve Class and Texas Class Champion accolades (and a Gold Medal, too) at this year’s Houston Rodeo Uncorked International Wine Competition.
Carter Creek Winery, Tempranillo Sparkling Rosé, Texas High Plains, NV, Lahey Vineyards
The effervescence of this sparkling Rosé wine elevates its light and refreshing notes of red fruit like strawberries, cranberries and pomegranate. As wine settles on the palate, citrus notes appear and linger through to the finish.
This sparkling Tempranillo Rosé comes from grapes grown in the Texas High Plains AVA, the most voluminous wine grape production area in Texas. It offers warm days and cool nights gained from the dry climate and an elevation above 3000 ft, and grape-friendly red sandy clay loam soils over porous caliche limestone. Furthermore, the grower, Lahey Vineyards, usually produces more than 3,000 tons of fine wine grapes per year, the equivalent of over 100,000 cases of wine.
How the Wine was Made
With all the good attributes of the Texas High Plains for growing quality wine grapes, it has the often unpredictable characteristic of having late Spring freezes that can tinge tender tendrils and “bite-off” young buds. Luckily, this Tempranillo came out late enough to miss winter’s last call. Carter Creek received a little over 10 tons of beautiful Tempranillo fruit from Lahey Vineyards.
The grapes were harvested in the early morning coolness and then sent directly to press where they had just enough skin contact time to capture its red-orange hued pink color. The light dosage of residual sugar used for this wine’s second, sparkle-producing fermentation places this wine in the Brut category and gives a medium-weight and silky mouthfeel that balances its bright acidity.
How to Enjoy this Wine
Enjoy this sparkling Tempranillo rosé as a great warm-weather sipper or as a food-friendly wine and pairs nicely with any type of seafood (especially salmon and/or shrimp), pork sausage, paella, tapas, and don’t forget the occasional burger.
Any time is a good time if you have this sparkling rosé on hand. That’s why we say “Rosé All Day” and also use it as a Hashtag (#RoséAllDay), too!
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