Rosé California (Blossom Hill White Zinfandel)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	Blossom Hill White Zinfandel
Date:	30/12/08 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant and easy to drink.

Disadvantages: Lacks sophistication.

When you buy wine as a present for someone and I'm not sure what to get I usually play safe and get a rosé. Sometimes red wines can be too vinegary and white wines too sour. I find that rosé wines rarely disappoint.

Blossom Hill wines, created by winemaker Carol Thorup, were introduced into the UK in 1992 and are now sold in over 30 countries. According to the producers Blossom Hill wines are "styled for today's tastes, being soft, fruity and easy to drink"... very easy in my opinion. Blossom Hill White Zinfandel is made by crushing and chilling the unfermented juice before storing it in stainless steel tanks for several hours prior to pressing. The expressed juice is then fermented cold.

Blossom Hill White Zinfandel is produced from grapes sourced from the fertile growing region of Northern California and is not a white wine as the name might suggest, but a light fruity rosé wine that avoids being too sweet. When served cold (as it should always) it has a crisp smooth refreshing flavour and is ideal for summer garden parties (I often have a bottle ready by the swimming pool), although it does glow nicely in the glass whilst being sipped next to a burning log fire on dark November evenings. It is classed as a medium rosé wine and possesses a pleasant bouquet of red berries amid a hint of honeyed watermelon. It's not sophisticated by any means but neither does it pretend to be. Alcohol content is not too steep at 10% so you can easily gulp down a bottle of this before a night on the town... if you must.

It is a wine best drunk within one year of purchase - not a difficult task - and can be found in most of the major supermarkets for usually under a fiver a bottle.

Summary: A rose wine that rarely disappoints.