Wine Code Breaker #385

Walking into a French patisserie is one of life’s greatest pleasures. It can be a dreamy experience, particularly where there is une tarte aux pommes involved. The lightly crusted pastry, the apple and glazing…need I say more. Imagine if you could turn this into a sparkling drink. How would you go about it? My approach was to puree the tart until it was a fine, free-flowing liquid and transferring it to a Soda Stream. From past experience I did this outside and the result was, well, an explosive emulsion covering the freshly rain-cleansed Camelias! The easier way is to start with grapes and follow the traditional method, or Methode Traditionelle, for the crafting of fine sparkling wines.

The 2017 Ghost Rock Vineyard Zoe is a Brut Rosé that is made using the traditional method from a Pinot Noir dominant sourced from vineyards in Northern Tasmania. The colour is a delightful salmon pink with an attractively alluring fine bead. The nose is quite floral with strawberries, red apples and crisp skin influence in amongst rose petals. Hints of dough and yeast wafting gently are reminiscent of freshly baked pastries. The palate is crisp and creamy, with red and green apples that builds from a core of strawberries. The pastry-like dough adds to the complexity and the crunchy acidity the balance. A lovely, persistent finish that was significantly more pleasing than my Methode Stupide.

Enjoy!