I’m at the rose seminar at the Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, and the fellow sitting next to me takes a sip of a rose sparkling wine from New Mexico — yes, New Mexico — and says, “Man, I could drink this all day.”
Which pretty much sums up Gruet Rose Brut NV, a sparkler from that state’s most famous winery. (We’re still working on bubbly here in Texas, although McPherson Cellars and Delaney Vineyards in Grapevine have done a couple of vintages.) The Gruet is bright and bouncy, with lots of strawberry flavor, but still quite dry. Serve it with spicy ethnic food — it would be terrific with pad thai or crawfish stew — or before dinner. The wine costs about $13, and should be available at all of the usual places.
