Once upon a time, when I was a wee Molly, I lived in a neighborhood with about ten other kids. Most of my childhood memories are tied to that neighborhood: exploring in the boy across the street's power-wheel car, eating tortillas made by the girl next door's grandmother, and running from imaginary spiders with the boy who lived four houses down.
One of my best friends and neighbors at the time was a bit older than me, and was particularly talented at getting me to try new ideas that typically... weren't great (see examples like seeing how far we could jump off the swings, collecting hail in buckets, and trying to tame the cat that lived under our porch).
One day he presented his latest idea: Sneaky Snacks.
The concept was simple. When our moms weren't looking, we'd sneak into the kitchen and eat a snack. It was simple, and genius. However, when trying it at my house, we hit a snag. My mom has always been a fresh ingredients organic type cook (even before it was cool), so there weren't a lot of true snacks in our house (unless you counted carrot sticks, which to be honest no five-year-old counts). We ended up sitting on the counter, swapping a jar of sprinkles, since that was legitimately the only sugar we could find in the house.
It's time for wine... get it? Get it?!
While eating sprinkles straight from the container is basically the most disgusting thing ever, the experience had the thrill of the forbidden, and the feeling that we were getting away with something outside of our normal experience.
To be honest, I still feel that way sometimes— I think everyone does. It's that hipster mentality, the idea of discovering something or doing something cool that no one else knows about (yet). It's thrilling and adventurous, while also feeling like a cool secret.
This is especially evident when I'm able to drink a great wine that genuinely feels like a steal, and I felt that way while drinking the Belleruche Côtes du Rhône.
Sunshine-y color is great for a bland winter.
I've realized I haven't talked a lot about French wines on this blog.
Partly this is intentional... sometimes the sheer volume of French wines kind of freak me out. They also have way more rules and regulations around growing and blending than other wines. For example, certain regions grow only certain varietals, and for a wine to be considered part of the appellation (or as they're called in France, Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) , they must include certain percentages of specific varietals.
Today we will focus on one particular type of wine that's particularly near and dear to my heart: Rhones. Rhone wines are among the earliest wines in France to be classified by origin, and depending on which part of the valley they are from, they range in price from super cheap (woo!) to reeeeeal pricey (boo!).
White Côtes du Rhône like this one are typically dominated by Grenache Blanc, but include percentages of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Picpoul Blanc, Clairette, and Bourboulanc. The Belleruche is part of the M. Chapoutier label (a pretty big deal in France)— the focus behind this label was to create affordable wines that paired well with specific foods. There's also a red and a rose too, and all of them are good for the wallet.
This particular one smells a lot like dried apricots to me. One of the hallmarks of white Rhone wines is their peachy/apricot-y tones, and this one is no exception. It's got a bit of green apple, but overall it's a pretty soft wine.
Not sure if this is "limpid" or not....
In the glass it's a slightly darker yellow (one review I read described it as "limpid" which I think is kinda gross sounding. I'm going with "honey"). It's a fairly light wine too. I almost think that if I was going to drink this by itself, I might save it for the spring or summer, but if you're like me and want to drink it in winter, it makes a fantastic addition to a seafood dish, or maybe something with lemon in it.
OUR RATING: Light, drinkable white that's great for the everyday, and the price will make you feel like you're getting away with something awesome.
I'D DRINK THIS:
During the salad course. The salad probably has grapefruit on it.
While speculating about who's going to win the Bachelor
At a wedding. Probably purchased in bulk, which is great.
At a company mixer, when you realize you're surrounded by youths.