We’re heading into the last month of summer, and it is still hot and sunny, so cool, refreshing wines are a great choice. Here we’ll review two excellent options, both under $20. They represent two of the most popular wine types in the market today, Rosé and Prosecco. You’ve probably enjoyed several bottles of Rosé and Prosecco over the past few months, and we recommend adding the following wines to your tasting experience.
2019 Pasqua 11 Minutes Rosé – made from a blend of both traditional grapes from the Veneto, as well as international varieties such as Merlot and Carmenere, this rosé gets its color from a gentle pressing of the grapes 
which lasts exactly 11 seconds. Thus the name. The wine is closely monitored throughout the fermentation process, and then spends 3-4 months on the lees. Here are our thoughts:
The wine is a light salmon color. It presents a bright nose of peach, grapefruit and some orange. This is smooth on the palate, and you definitely get the extra richness on the palate that the lees contact enhances. It is perfectly balanced, with crisp acid and a long finish. This is really delicious, a top quality rosé, and well worth the $20 Suggested Retail Price. One of my favorite rosés of the year, and clearly an addition to our Value List.
NV Pasqua PassioneSentimento Prosecco – made from 100% Glera in the charmat, or tank method. As opposed to the classic method used in Champagne and elsewhere, where the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, in the charmat method the wine undergoes this second fermentation in pressurized stainless steel 
tanks. The wine is filtered to remove the lees, and bottled. Typically wines made from this method spend a matter of weeks in the secondary fermentation process prior to bottling, and are then ready to drink. In contrast, wines made in the traditional method can spend years before they are ready, all of it in the bottle. These differences produce different profiles, with wines like Prosecco showing more fruit, as well as larger bubbles, which will fade fairly quickly. This is due to having far less time for the carbon dioxide produced in fermentation to fully dissolve into solution under pressure. Traditional method wines also show more yeasty and toasty aromas and flavors from their long contact with the lees. My favorite Proseccos drift a bit more toward the Champagne like characteristics, retaining the vibrant fruit but also showing some yeasty notes as well as some structure. This wine does that. Our impressions:
This has bright fruit, including peach, pear and apple. On the palate is it crisp and clean, and stays that way through the long finish. It is more than that, however, and you get a little yeasty bread aroma and flavor, along with a bit more texture than you might expect. All of those things combined result in one of the best Proseccos we’ve had in a while. This is refreshing and complex. Highly recommended and going on our Value List. SRP of $16.
We may have talked about enjoying these wines with the remainder of summer, however they are both just high quality wines and should be enjoyed anytime, year round.
A votre santé!
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