What’s in a name? Roses, rosés; how a little slip of the pen above the ‘e’ can make so much of a difference in both pronunciation and meaning, yet while roses are intoxicatingly fragrant, rosés can be just plain intoxicating.
I had a play with a few friends and constructed a delicious menu around the beautiful rose and its liquid counterpart, rosé.
With roses you would think the obvious, gorgeous splashes of colour and drama, its presence purely visual, but nothing could be further from the truth. While roses are all of the above, they are also in fact an edible flower, the delicate petals imparting a sensual muskiness that would be described as more of a fragrance than it would a flavour, but one that adds such luxury to any dish in which it makes its subtle appearance.
To begin our rose and rosé initiation, guests were welcomed with a refreshing glass of sparkling rose water and pomegranate juice before being introduced to a range of regionally produced rosés to enjoy throughout the afternoon.
The French have had an enduring relationship with this pink hued alcoholic beverage, a light refreshing wine that lingers clean and vibrant somewhere in between the full bodied flavour of a red and the lighter flavour of a chilled white. In recent years rosés have managed to shake the cringe factor that had shadowed it since the 80’s where it suffered from a major identity crisis in the aftermath of sickly sweet, almost dessert style rosés plaguing the market, then vanishing almost all together with the exception of the most common of all rosés, Mateus. Thankfully, winemakers have rediscovered the rosé which has seen the emergence of some wonderful fresh flavours into the market place. None too soon either, the Queensland’s tropical climate would have to be perfect for the consumption of this pretty pink liquid redefining it as the perfect summer drink.
In the name of rosé research, the regional foodie lunchees took it upon themselves to try some of the rosés on offer and there were a few stand outs. The first thing that does need to be clarified is that there is sometimes a little confusion as to what a true rosé really is, resulting as some ‘heavier’ chilled reds being passed off as rosés, and while they may still be great wines, if you are expecting a rosé comparable with others on the market you will be left a little disappointed as there is a distinct difference.
Rosés have their own unique method of production, the pretty blush tint coming about through the juice being left in contact with the red grape skins long enough for the colour to ‘bleed’ from the skin and stain the juice ever so slightly. Like any wine, rosés also have a range of styles, while some can be quite sweet, equally they can be dry, depending on the variety of grape, growing conditions and a number of other factors. Rosés tend to be drunk chilled which is what makes them such a wonderful summer lunch option, fresh clean flavours that compliment most summery foods especially seafood, salads and pizzas.
Seafood was the order of the day for our regional foodies, starting with canvass platters of sushi flowers. Arranged in floral clusters, the sushi balls, complete with wasabi stems, looked pretty as a picture – quite literally. Next were the scallops, sizzled in their shell, doused with a delicate rosé sabayon, a dollop of salmon caviar and scattered with rose petals.
The prawns were served with a gorgeous couscous, pomegranates and craisins sparkling like jewels among a collision of flavours; cinnamon, mint and a subtle hint of rose water.
The dessert was an anthology of decadent rose scented meringues topped with a spoonful of rose petal jam and a dainty miniature rose bud. If the vision of it didn’t make your heart skip a beat, the flavour certainly did.
It was a dazzling end to a perfect afternoon, where roses and rosé synergised visually and tastefully in more ways than one.
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
If you would like to have a bit of a rosé initiation, you might be interested in the Rose Revolution where wineries have joined forces to spread the word on dry, textural Rosé, for more info, visit
http://rosewinerevolution.com/
