Raphael Rose of Merlot `08 (not TJ's) $12.99 ***

This is my favorite Raphael wine so far.  Dry, a bit effervescent and crisp.  I bought it after a tasting at Bacchus.  This rose was good at around 60 degrees.  Crisp, kinda grapefuity.  I liked it with my standby pesto flat bread pizza -  flatbread and pesto stored in freezer - all you have to buy is fresh mozzarella & grape tomatoes (I usually have Parmesan & onions on hand in the fridge).  This Rose cut the fat of the mozzarella and the olive oil in the pesto, added a citrusy punch and is a dry wine (like a super light, refreshing Merlot!).

This is a good summer wine to chill - it was a perfect day to use the vacu vin rapid ice wine chiller (they really do work). I think that it would be a good picnic wine too. It cuts through fattiness, and just lifts up what you are eating to a new level.

Good job Raphael.  I am happy that I liked this, after not really liking your Cabernet Franc.  I'm glad that I found a Long Island Wine of yours that I can recommend. I like that we have a burgeoning vineyard economy here in NY.

About Raphael Winery: (from their website)
The winemaking philosophy is based on an understanding of the cycle of nature, the climate and soil, the ripeness of the grapes and the success of time-honored techniques. Utilizing gravity flow and a natural winemaking philosophy, Raphael wines are produced sustainably, utilizing spontaneous fermentation with little fining and filtration resulting in wines that purely express our local terroir. Our goal is to produce ripe, fruit-driven wines that exhibit a marriage of depth, finesse, elegance, and balance – the flavors of the North Fork – provided first by the terroir and secondly, by the dedicated, impassioned attention of our own hands.
The winery was designed by John Petrocelli who was inspired by the Italian monasteries of his ancestral home. Our production facility blends classic Mediterranean architecture with modern winemaking equipment. By building the winery 12 feet underground we are not only able to make our wines using a gentle gravity-flow method, but were able to construct a very energy efficient building using the earth’s natural 55F temperature to cool the winery in the summer and warm it in the winter.