But in the Catalan regions of France and Spain, there are small vignerons who produce straight carignan wine with devotion.  In Languedoc-Rousillion where the Pyrenées mountains fall into the Mediterranean, two cousins make a pure carignan from old vines under the name “Terre d’Ardoise” — land of slate.  This is a country wine — uncomplicated in its appeal, fragrant with dust and smoke, and just a little bitter.  The wine is concentrated by leaf pulling and discarding a portion of the unripe harvest.  The vines are very old and stand upright in sparse soil of black slate.   Such hardship could produce a wine of formidable acid and structure.  The cousins are clever in their wine-making, however, and the result is surprisingly soft and open.  This wine welcomes food, especially pork and bread.

Carignan is an interesting taste –earth, bracken, and hard fruit — and one we should know when we drink Rhône wines which often include a measure of carignan for color and spine.  You will find this one at Dedalus for $12.75

Tuta 7/20/09

First up, we’re going to get you into the crisp, easy-drinking wines. We’ll start out with a bottle of the “Tradition” from Chateau St. Martin de la Garrigue. This little number from the Languedoc sports an enticing nose – generous strawberry and watermelon aromatics whip out of the glass. Your first sip will tell you that it does an admirable job as a summer thirst-quencher. Your second will show you that there’s much more going on in the glass. After you get past the initial strawberry/watermelon impression, you’ll start to taste a little zesty spice and bits of lemon rind. The almost-bracing, but perfectly integrated acid will get you salivating. This is one juicy wine. And it’s well suited for all kinds of fun summer food. I’m particularly into pairing it with a simple endive and avocado salad, lightly dressed with a crisp white-balsamic vinaigrette. It’s also pretty wonderful with a pile of grilled shrimp skewers.

We can be greedy little wine merchants. When we find something we love, we like to snap it all up for our customers. Every bottle of the St. Martin Rosé that made its way into Vermont is either in our store, or in your glass. You won’t find this anywhere else in the state.

Chateau St. Martin de la Garrigue “Tradition” 2008 — $12.99
Next week, we’ll show you a gripping Austrian Rosé. You’ll be hooked before you know it.