CON’T/FOOD WINE SIPPER/FOOD
SPRING ROSES For wine lovers, the month of May means the release of a new vintage of roses, and the 2010s are just now hitting the valley. Dry rose makes for a great transition wine. As the weather turns warmer, those reds of winter seem a little overwhelming, so think pink for the patio. Served lightly chilled, they’re a food-friendly choice that works well in the spring and throughout the hot summer months. Our tasting showed that the south of France really has a way with rose, as wines from that region captured all three top spots. 2010 DOMAINE DE COURON ROSE, $9.99 Just the lightest blush of pink colors this 100 percent grenache rose from the Coteaux de l’Ardeche on the right bank of the Rhone River. It opens with enticing aromas, something like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Ripe melon mingles with creamy peach on the palate, balanced by bright citrus that comes through especially on the finish. This one is a supple bargain. 2010 DOMAINE HOUCHART ROSE, $11.99 This salmon-hued blend of grenache, syrah, cinsault, cabernet sauvignon and mouvedre hails from Provence. The aromas are a lovely mix of strawberry and clover. On the palate, it’s an elegantly structured wine that charms with a blast of red berry fruit and racy citrus, and an intriguing touch of spice comes through on the finish. 2010 MOILLARD ROSE, LES VIOLETTES, $10.99 This coral pink pour from the Cotes du Rhone offers opulent aromas of spicy berry fruit, rose petal, fresh herb and lime. It’s just as opulent on the palate, where crushed berry, sweet lemon and blood orange flavors fill the mouth. All that richness turns refreshingly crisp on the lively finish, making this rose a great choice for those cooler spring days. —David Kirkpatrick
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ply the volume restaurants need while lowering prices. Former chefturned-farmer Chris Florence of Sweet Valley Organics in Emmett has experienced the local food movement from both restaurant kitchen and farm field. He thinks many of the myriad problems that face the movement will fade as it gains popularity. He saw it happen in the Bay Area, where he got his culinary education, and believes he’s seeing it happen here in Southern Idaho. “Once people are committed to buying from local guys and supporting us, we can get big enough so that the economy of scale works and our prices start to go down. And that’s really the crux of the issue,” Florence says. In the last few years, Florence thinks the Treasure Valley has hit a critical mass. As more people support the concept of local food, farmers can respond by growing more and moving beyond the local food beachheads of farmers’ markets into more mainstream restaurants and other institutions. “Our business plan over the next two to three years is to meet those demands,” Florence says. “We understand that when the customer comes into a restaurant, they don’t care if something bad happened on your farm and you don’t have lettuce that day. They want a salad and it’s up to us to provide that. So we are taking all of the steps that we can to streamline our farm, make it more efficient and produce more of the things we know restaurants are looking for.” To remain relevant, Florence thinks the local food movement has to become a bigger part of America’s overall food system. “It’s up to us to make the case. It’s up to the locals to make the case,” Florence says. “It’s not about just being idealistic anymore. It’s about putting the sweat and the blood into it to create what we want to see.” 34
BOISEweekly | MAY 11-17, 2011 | 35