Rose is the top wine for summer

Rose is the quintessential summer wine, and a sparkling rose, like the good value non-vintage Segura Viudas Brut Rose, is double the pleasure.

For my palate, Segura Viudas is the finest Spanish sparkling wine. I enjoy its top brut, Heradad, both for its elegant flavors and texture, and stylish silver-based bottle. But until a recent tasting of the brut rose, a year or more passed since my last taste of any Segura Viudas sparkling wines because, like many consumers, I order French and California sparkling wines instinctively. A twofold mistake.

In November 2003, I visited Segura Viudas, located in Spain's Penedes region. Its 11th-century farmhouse has been expanded into a modern winery with wine cellars descending five stories into the Mediterranean soil. Jose Ferrer and his family own Segura Viudas and the California sparkling wine company, Gloria Ferrer.

Segura Viudas is made according to the Champagne method: After the primary fermentation of changing the grape juice into alcohol, the wine is transferred to bottles, fresh yeast is added and the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation, which creates the bubbles and additional aromas and flavors. Lastly, the spent yeast cells are disgorged from each bottle, a small amount of fresh wine mixed with sugar (called dosage) is added to fill the bottle, and the cork inserted.

The non-vintage Segura Viudas Brut Rose is a blend of 80 percent Trepat and 10 percent each Monastrell and Garnacha, which are traditional Spanish grapes grown in the Penedes region. Two years of aging the wine on the yeast yields an eye-appealing strawberry shade with summer fruit scents of ripe cherries and strawberries.

A mouthful of cherry and raspberry flavor comes bundled with elegant bubbles and fresh, crisp acidity in the finish. Reflecting its Spanish Mediterranean origin, the brut rose is perfectly refreshing on a warm sunny day.

The wine's versatility makes it perfect as an aperitif, delightful with shrimp cocktail, grilled shrimp with yellow rice, mildly spicy ceviche, and fresh fruit salads with summer peaches, nectarines and plums. Its incredibly affordable price allows adding bottles to the ice bucket without freezing your budget. The non-vintage Segura Viudas Brut Rose is distributed by R&R Marketing in Fairfield. It retails for approximately $9.

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