As summertime and rosé wine season ring in, we wanted to make sure that everyone could get in on the refreshing action. So this fine wine choice boiled down to a luscious rosé from the southern reaches of the Rhône Valley: Rhonéa’s Carte Blanche Sans Alcool 2024, a perfectly authentic rosé wine that is alcohol-free. It’s a natural tasting wine free from both artificial aromas and flavorings. Just an alcohol-free wine that is perfect for summertime cocktail hours. The wine is elaborated from ripe grapes that are then carefully turned into wine, it is then « de-alcoholized » naturally by the cooperative’s master winemakers using a cold distillation process. The result: the wine retains all of the aromas and flavors of a rich rosé from the good earth of the Côte de Rhone region.

The grape varieties -which are grown in the sun-drenched vineyards of Beaumes de Venise and surrounding regions — that are blended into Carte Blanche Sans Alcool 2024 roses are typical of the region: Caladoc, Cinsault and Grenache noir. The result is an alcohol-free aperitif or a beverage to be sipped with a light meal. This wine is just the latest addition to the pioneering achievements from Rhonéa which has been producing wines of the Rhône Valley since 1925. Among the cooperative’s wines one finds the mythical wines of the Côtes de Rhône region: Beaumes-de-Venise, Rasteau, Vacqueyras, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Côtes du Rhône and Ventoux.

The Rhonéa Winery brings together artisanal winegrowers and in addition to promoting those winegrowers, provides them with fair remuneration, a model akin to fair trade and sustainable development concepts. The winegrowers work small family estates, some of whom have done so for three generations or more. Rhonéa supports each estate on a day-to-day basis, with, for example, fixed monthly advances, cash flow advances for new members, the spreading of payments in the event of a small harvest, the provision of high-performing decision support tools, support with administrative formalities or financial aid for the transition to organic wine-growing. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette https://rhonea.fr/gb/