Bright gems nestled under tiny green canopies represent the perfect summer treasure for fingers small and large. A perfectly ripe plucked strawberry offers the quintessence of flavor. And what a flavor! Sweet. Juicy. Tangy. Fresh. While perhaps not equal to the pleasure of summer foraging, finding notes of strawberry in wine yields delight in good measure, especially when it comes to pink wine of all kinds. Rosé remains the perfect embodiment of strawberry essence — crisp, juicy, refreshing, and hard to resist. But even some red wines carry this fresh brightness. Grenache in particular is known for often evoking strawberry, but grapes as familiar as Pinot Noir and as exotic as Schiava or Kalecik Karasi can also summon the same fruit. More than anything, the aroma of ripe strawberry serves as the perfect reminder that wine should provide at least as much frivolity as it does fascination.

Jemrose “Foggy Knoll Vineyard” Grenache, Bennett Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA
Castel Sallegg “Lago di Caldaro Scelto Classico” Schiava Bischofsleiten DOC, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
Paul Jaboulet Aine “Parallele 45” Rosé, Cotes du Rhone, France
Quivira “Wine Creek Ranch” Rosé of Grenache, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, California, USA
Santi “Infinito” Rosé, Bardolino, Italy
Anne Amie Vineyards “Midnight Saignee” Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Palama “Metiusco” Rosato, Salento, Italy
Atillio Contini Rosato, Valle del Tirso, Sardinia, Italy
Schloss Gobelsburg “Gobelsburger – Cistercien” Rosé, Neiderosterreich, Austria
Domaine Antonin Guyon “La Justice” Gevrey-Chambertin, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France
Kavaklidere “Prestige” Kalecik Karasi, Cappadocia, Turkey
Carlos Pulenta “Tomero” Rosé of Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

This is part of an ongoing series of original images and prose called The Essence of Wine