This week’s wine pick of the week, features Executive Chef Lee Hillson, Executive Chef at T. Cooks at the Royal Palms Resort and Spa, pairing delicious Banfi wines with help from our wine expert, Jeff McCarty from Alliance Beverage.

Continuing in our exploration of America’s Favorite Chilean Wines from Concha y Toro, we are featuring two delightfully crisp and refreshing wines – Rosa Regale and Centine Rose.


Centine Rose

A pleasant, barely off-dry rosé made of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot grapes.The carnation-pink Centine Rosé is is vibrant, clean and richly redolent of forest fruit, red berry, dried sage and minerals. It is demurely perfumed with floral aromas and sophisticatedly dry with wild berry flavors and a crisp clean finish.

The contrast between its capricious pastel color and austere Tuscan character make it the perfect year-round aperitif, though it also pairs well with salads and lighter fare.



Rosa Regale

Rosa Regale is a unique red sparkling wine. Aromatic with a hint of rose petals and raspberries, Rosa Regale is delightfully vivacious and festive. Typically appreciated as one of the few wines world that truly marries well with chocolate, especially dark or bittersweet, it charms extend across a palette of occasions and food pairings, from savory to sweet.

On its own Rosa Regale is an elegant aperitif. Its fruity character beguiles the heat of spicy Asian and Latino fare, and its gentle acidity is an ideal foil to the piquant richness of goat cheese, especially in a spring mix salad with almonds and cranberries.

Quiches, glazed hams, beets, vichyssoise, gazpacho, chowders and even the myriad of flavors at Thanksgiving dinner, all traditionally challenging wine matches, are enchanted by Rosa Regale. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, trifles and hazelnut tortes are all elevated by this frothy wine.

Centine 2006

Grape Varieties: 60% Sangiovese; 20% Cabernet Sauvignon; 20% Merlot.

The calcareous soil and temperate micro-climate of Tuscany rewards the wine grape with unequaled fruitiness. Among the noble grape varieties that thrive here are Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Centine is a bright ruby-red youthful wine, intensely fruity with light spicy notes and hints of coffee and licorice. Centine is full bodied and well-balanced, this wine shows great elegance and a complete, soft structuce with a lingering finish - a testament to its overall balance. It is an ideal companion to pasta, grilled or roasted red and white meats.

These fine wines are also available at Basha’s and Fry’s and Fry’s Marketplaces!

Stop by and purchase these fine wines for yourself!