In winter when it’s overcast and I am feeling glum, nothing cheers me up like a sprightly rosé. Our retailer was looking to unload his rosé wines, on the assumption that rosé is a seasonal beverage. So the Long-Suffering Husband picked up this bottle ($8.99), one we have not tried before.
DMZ rosé 2013.
It turned out to be a fantastic value, bursting with intense strawberry flavors and good acidity that can stand up to whatever you’re eating (within reason). The color is gorgeous, pink but with a tiny blush of peach, and the finish is lovely. The only fault is a lack of aroma. From smelling this, you would never guess how good it tastes. But maybe it was too cold. At this price, I won’t quibble.
This is a South African wine. I was charmed by DeMorgenzon’s philosophy, which is a bit New Age:
While we could call ourselves ‘mountain vineyards’ we prefer to be known as ‘garden vineyards’. In Spring specially chosen wildflowers flourish between our vines. We have no doubt that a biodiverse and ecologically sensitive environment produces infinitely better grapes and the beauty of our gardens is captured in every bottle of our wine. We pipe Baroque music through our vineyards 24×7 and believe that the power of music positively influences the ripening process.
Well, if Baroque music gets the vines to produce a beverage this good, who am I to complain? Next time we have a bottle of this, I’ll be sure to play some Handel.
Linnet Moss 
Sounds like someone has been reading “The Secret Life of Plants”. 🙂
I loved that book when I was little 🙂
I was actually pen pals with Peter Tompkin’s son, Ptolemy, back in college. He sent me piles and piles of books since he enjoyed shopping for them in his favorite used book store in NYC. Apparently Peter Tompkins went searching for the lost city of Atlantis while Ptolemy was a kid…Ptolemy wrote a memoir about growing up with such a parent. It’s pretty funny.
That sounds very interesting. Imagine naming your kid Ptolemy! He should have just changed his own name to Ptolemy and let his son be called Peter 🙂
I know, right! It’s one of those names that might seem cool at first, but you’d get lots of raised eyebrows growing up. Although I believe Ptolemy spent his early years with his dad’s hippie friends, so they certainly wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.
A very pretty glass of vino there LM. The thought of music listening vines is captivating and if nothing else, working in the vineyards would be super pleasant. And who knows? Nature is a wondrous and mysterious beast.
Yes, I found it charming that the vines are so well cared for 🙂
I believe I would drink the wine for no other reason than for the fact that they treat their vineyard so lovingly. Two things I know for sure: I’d like to hunt down a bottle of this rosé and I’d like to come back as a grape vine on DeMorgenzon’s land.
Having worked in a winery, I recall learning about the techniques of many other vintners–some of them employing biodynamic agriculture procedures. Some of them made my skin crawl, but many just made me laugh. I kinda like the idea of music and wildflowers. Who wouldn’t?
Happy Christmas, Linnet! Cheers
I usually prefer white wine, but this DMZ Rosé sounds so delicious!
Thanks Lily! I am a white wine lover too, but I enjoy a good rosé now and then. This one has lots of strawberry flavor. Very nice.
OT, but DMZ is sounding good to me right about now.
I’m trying to start a trend of drinking rosé in the winter. It’s cheerful!