Nic Tartaglia Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo | 2024

I get amped up about color in wine, especially when it comes to rosé wines. Color is typically not an indicator of quality. You can have the prettiest pale pink cloud in your glass, only to discover the wine tastes like bitter flowers and cheap soap. Color in rosé comes from a handful of factors—the grape variety, the thickness of its skin, the amount of pigment those skins contain, and how the juice and skins are handled in the cellar, via extraction, movement, drainage, filtration, or blending. Oh, and then there’s yeast type and interaction, quietly influencing color from start to finish. Color is complicated and widely misunderstood, which is one of the reasons Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo remains ignored by the general consumer and continues to deliver an absurd amount of pleasure for the money.

Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is made from Montepulciano, Abruzzo's flagship red grape, a thick-skinned variety loaded with pigment. Technically, it's a rosé by method—a red grape vinified like a white wine—but I prefer to think of it as a light red: served chilled, endlessly juicy, and ridiculously refreshing. Maybe it's time for a new category: RED-SÉ, anyone? Some Cerasuolos can be serious and grippy, but what I love about Nic's version is its softness. It's like a strawberry-razz rainbow exploded in your mouth, followed by cold drips of acidity. It's delicious on its own, even better with food, and versatile enough to pair with just about anything that isn't too spicy. If you’re looking for that light red of the summer that just hits differently, consider Cerasuolo, but don’t tell your friends it’s rosé ;) Allegra Angelo