For this Wine Wednesday, I am writing about a Cotes de Provence wine I had Monday from Maison Saleya. I had it at a local restaurant called Red Rooster owned by restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson. I couldn’t find the website for the Chateau and I suspect it is a proprietary label of importer Kobrand. According to the Kobrand website, the grapes for this blend of Cinsault and Grenache grow at the foot of Montagne Sainte-Victoire. Apparently, the area is very sunny but also exposed to the strong Mistral winds. Schisty and granite soils and maritime influences make up the rest of the picture behind this cheery wine. Grenache brings fruit and color while Cinsault breathes freshness and youth into the wine.

This week spring was in the air and it made me want to drink Rosé. It’s been a while since I have taken a seminar on the Cotes de Provence wines. I need to go back to my notes from a seminar I did with David Glancy, MS years ago at the Society of Wine Educators conference and perhaps do the certificate from the Wine Scholar’s Guild. Cotes de Provence has a great website loaded with information.

It was salmon-colored with strawberry and raspberry notes, nice acidity and a good finish. On the shelf it costs about $14. This dry rosé is named for the flower market in Nice. I paired it with salmon and wished for summer, as a little girl once did throwing a coin into a Roman fountain years ago. That little girl, my niece, is now in college. Where does the time go? I haven’t been in Provence in many years but I still remember visiting Les Baux when I lived in Dijon, the Camargue, Aigues Mortes, and St. Remy de Provence with my parents when I was in high school and sailing in Les Porquerolles when I lived in Italy. Still it feels as though I am long overdue to see that beautiful region once again.