Photo by Kristen Fletcher.

Drink of the Week: Rosé

Where: Weygandt Wines

Local liquor stores are your best bet for, well, buying alcohol. But you don’t always have to pony up big bucks to get a taste of their offerings. You can often sample a wide variety of alcohol absolutely gratis, and, if you’re lucky, walk away both buzzed and slightly more educated.

Weygandt Wines (3519 Connecticut Avenue, NW), just steps from the Cleveland Park metro, is exactly the kind of place to get such an education, starting with their 2015 Rosé Tasting on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, when eager imbibers can check out the first sips of newly-arrived vintages. Because of its fresh floral notes, rosé is meant to be a young wine, perfect for spring and summer al fresco drinking. Some of the rosés being poured at Weygandt this weekend include Gerard & Pierre Morin, made with Pinot Noir grapes; Domaine les Aphillanthes, made with 50 percent Grenache and a blend of Cinsault, Mourvedre, and Counoise grapes; and Chateau de Manissy, a blend of Syrah, Cinsault, and Bourboulenc.

If that all sounds French to you, Cason Love, assistant manager at Weylandt Wines, has provided us with a little bit of a tasting cheat sheet:

Grenache-based Rosé: “Usually a brilliant ruby red hue with notes of ripe strawberry, orange, and hibiscus. You’ll find wines of Grenache to have moderately high acidity, with quite a bit of color and body.”

Cabernet Sauvignon-based Rosé: “A deep ruby red color with red wine-like flavors of green bell pepper, cherry sauce, black currant, and pepper spice. Cabernet rosé wines usually have heightened acidity because they aren’t typically aged in oak.”

Provence Rosé (blend): “Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and Mourvèdre are all used to create this pale pink rosé and to give it aromas of strawberry, fresh-cut watermelon, and rose petal, finishing with a distinctive, salty minerality on the palate.”

Tavel Rosé from the Cotes du Rhone (blend): “A dry rosé that has more body and structure than most pink wines. It is made primarily with Grenache and Cinsault, but nine varieties are allowed in the blend. Usually high in alcohol and low in acid, this salmon-pink wine ages well and its nose of summer fruits can turn to rich, nutty notes over time.”

Grab your beret and get your French on.

Weygandt Wines is open 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. – 6 p.m Sunday.

Small Bites:

It’s Baaaaack: Truckeroo
Food trucks are lining up again at The Bullpen at Half Street Fairgrounds across from Nationals Stadium, starting today, 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Some of the trucks pulling up for today’s festivities include Arepa Zone, CapMac, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Urban Poutine, Korean BBQ Taco Box, and Reggae Vibes. Truckeroo takes place one Friday each month from April through October—you can grab a meal there before a game or before you head to any one of a number of activities that always seems to be happening down along the Navy Yard waterfront.

Secret Dogs
If you’re jonesin’ for a hot dog while walking to a Nats game from Capitol Hill, stop by Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery (901 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.) and ask for the secret off-the-menu hot dog duo known as The Ripper, available only on game days: two all-beef hot dogs that are deep fried and stuffed with mustard, onions, and cheddar cheese, then topped off with DC Brau.

Tax Day Specials
Tax Day is Monday, April 18th (you can thank D.C.’s Emancipation Day holiday for that little reprieve) and a few spots around town are eager to help you spend any extra money you might have hanging around, or, alternatively, help you drown your sorrows. Slate Wine Bar + Bistro (2404 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) is offering an all day happy hour from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., while Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza locations, where they believe pizza always fixes the Tax Day blues, is offering up a buy one get one deal for slices. Alphonse Italian Market & Osteria (1212 U Street, N.W.) also believes in pizza therapy, with their Save Some Dough Complimentary Pizza deal with any Negroni purchase.

Tiki Time
Jack Rose Dining Saloon (2007 18th Street, NW) is bringing back their pert little tiki bar hideaway and rooftop terrace early this year, launching a Tiki Thursdays happy hour on Thursday, April 21, along with a spring cocktail menu. Some of the tropically-inspired tipples include the Ryghty Tyghty made with Dickel Rye, tropical tea-infused dry vermouth, housemade orgeat, lime, and tiki bitters, and the Coco Face, with Hamilton Demerara Rum, Ancho Reyes, almond-coco cream, cinnamon-chili honey syrup, and pineapple. A bevy of tiki beers include Ballast Point Pineapple Sculpin, an American IPA brewed with pineapple juice, and Avery Liliko’i Kepolo, a witbier brewed with passion fruit.