October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. This time of year, diverse members of the country’s聽foodie community team up with various organizations to fund cancer research or help cancer survivors.
In Chicago,聽The Lynn Sage Foundation’s Chicago’s In Good Taste campaign聽partners with more than 150 local restaurants, which donate portions of their food sales to the group. One hundred percent of the campaign鈥檚 proceeds fund breast cancer research at Northwestern University. Regional affiliates of the Susan G. Komen Foundation are hosting Dine Out for the Cure events, benefitting breast health programs in those communities.
For the entire month of October Free Will Brewing Co. in Bucks County, Pennsylvania is serving up pink beer at bars across the state. A portion of the proceeds from the brew鈥攄ubbed Saison de Rose鈥攚ill benefit聽Penn Medicine鈥檚 Rena Rowen Breast Cancer Center.
Six Napa and Sonoma wineries鈥擧unter III Wines, Chase Family Cellars, Annadel Estate Winery, Michael Mondavi Family Estate, Peju Winery and Cakebread Cellars鈥攁re working with Send Me on Vacation, a nonprofit organization, to treat cancer survivors to a vacation after completing their treatments.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, here are WE鈥檚 top recently reviewed ros茅s.
93 Ch芒teau d鈥橢sclans 2011 Garrus Ros茅 (C么tes de Provence)
A powerful, wood-aged ros茅 that shows great richness, density and structure. Treat this as a fine wine and you鈥檒l appreciate the texture, the mature berry fruits, the spice and vanilla flavors. Weighty and full in the mouth, this could even age well for another year or two.聽聽鈥斅燫.V.
abv: 14% 聽 聽 聽聽Price: $90
92 Minassian-Young 2011 Grenache-Cinsault Ros茅 (Paso Robles)
California ros茅 is awfully hard to get right. It鈥檚 usually too sweet, too heavy or both. With this Grenache-Cinsault blend, Minassian-Young knocks it out of the park. The wine is dry, delicate, modest in alcohol, and complex, with subtle peach, rosehip tea, orange zest, watermelon and spice flavors. A great bargain, but only 64 cases were produced.聽聽鈥斅燬.H.
abv: 13.3%聽聽聽聽 Price:聽$16
92 Onesta 2012 Bechthold Vineyard Ros茅 (Lodi)
Onesta is Jillian Johnson鈥檚 debut of her own wines; she previously made Cinsault-based reds and ros茅s for the Phoenix Ranch brand. She is not new, however, to the indelible Bechthold Vineyard and its ancient Cinsault grapes, and her passion and expertise with the site shows gorgeously here. Orange-pink in hue, this beauty shares notes of crushed strawberry that are聽perfectly in balance with its dry, elegant point-of-view. Sip this one all night long, with food or without.聽鈥斅燰.B.
abv: 13.5%聽聽聽聽 Price:聽$18
92 Ch芒teau Sainte Roseline 2012 La Chapelle de Sainte Roseline Ros茅 (C么tes de Provence)
The top cuv茅e from Sainte Roseline, this is a wood-aged wine. That gives a strongly spicy character on top of the sophisticated fruit. The wine is smooth and complex, with red plums and fragrant acidity going well with the elegant aftertaste.聽鈥斅燫.V.
abv: 12.5%聽聽聽聽聽 Price:聽NA
92 La Grande C么te 2011 L鈥橢state Ros茅 (Paso Robles)
This is one of the best ros茅s on the market. With a pretty orange and copper color, the wine is dry, crisp and deeply flavored in fruits, yet feels delicate and subtle. The blend is Mourv猫dre, Syrah and Grenache.聽聽鈥斅燬.H.
abv: 14.2% 聽 聽 聽Price:聽$20