Ingleside & Pizza, Snowday-Winesday!

So it's a snowy, wintery day outside. What better way to stay warm than to taste a new wine? So today we're doing a food pairing with delivery pizza. Boyer said that pizza goes with anything -- I'm willing to test it! The following wine is one that my parents actually picked up for me during their wine-touring through Virginia.

Name: Ingleside's "Sweet Virginia Rose"
Variety: 83% Chardonnay, 10% Cab. Sauv., 7% Merlot
Region: Eastern Virginia
Country: United States
Year: 2013
Price: 14.95
Pairing: Domino's Spinach & Feta Cheesy Bread and Pepperoni Pizza

What they say: The hot tub wine. This sweet blush wine has a delightful kiwi and citrus bouquet followed by flavors of strawberry, jam, and cherry. Its finish is rich and fruity. Recommended with cakes and sorbets and other sweet desserts. This wine is best served chilled.
Separate grape lots are fermented on the skins in stainless steel tanks. Then, just prior to bottling, the wine maker uses his skills to to develop this delightful dessert wine.


What I say:  This wine is everything that I want a wine to be. If I had to have one wine for the rest of my life, I would never hesitate. Yes, I have had better ones, but this is the one I think I would never ever tire of. The aroma is filled with strawberries and a little bit of fresh greens, as if you're standing at the strawberry cart in a full farmer's market. On the front I'm teased again with the strawberry, but rather than fresh it tastes a lot like strawberry-preserves. On the back, I'm happily pleased with the way it medium-fills the mouth, which is what I love about Blush wines in general- they're usually a perfect balance between the full-mouth of red wine and the "did I even drink that?" of dry whites. This one is a bit dry for a Blush, but I like that because it lets me focus on the flavor a bit more. I don't get any of the cherry they talk about. The back leaves me with what I think might be the "clean mineral" taste that I've heard of- like white pebbles or something. Though it has a 6% residual sugar, the sweetness is not overwhelming, of course I think that's helped a lot by the presence of the pizza. It has legs, thin but there (due to the sugar?) and a beautiful amber-rose color that makes me fall more in love with it. 

On the pairing: Boyer was right, pizza is delicious with all wine. I get to feel fancy because my cheesy bread has spinach in it. Like I mention above, I think the pizza helps the wine's sweetness balance really well. I'm sure this wine could be paired with much more extravagant things, but I appreciate a wine that sits happily with a coupon-inspired pizza. Would do again, over and over.