INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 SKINNER VINEYARDS ROSE EL DORADO $21.99

At a time like this, it's pretty much impossible to be 'normal'. But it is important to try and keep what you can as close to normal as you can while you can. Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

A little All-American Rose for the All-American holiday this weekend. Skinner Vineyard has routinely become a favorite source here for Rhone varietal wines out of California at very fair prices, and their Rose definitely continues the trend. Their version mimics the better quality wines of Provence and Bandol moreso than ones from Tavel, going for vibrant minerality instead of juicier fruit. The blend is dominated by Counoise, Mourvedre, and Cinsault over Grenache, which are varieties that have more natural acidity and savory tones behind their fruit. They also build the wines with a bit of a 'hands off' style, not fully naturalist but using native yeasts as well as using very little manipulation into bottling. This means the wine does have a touch of sediment in the bottle, unusual for a rose, but keeps the fruit characters snappy and fresh as well as leaving a bit fuller texture on the palate that would have otherwise been lost. A great meld of red and white fruits on the nose, almost crunchy raspberry and strawberry leaf notes, and the bright acidity on the palate brings out an almost minty cool note especially when the wine is at its coolest. When warmer (or at least not right out of the fridge cool) you get more into the juicier cherry and red berry tones, but still delicious no matter when or how you enjoy it.

---