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June 5, 2009
Many winemakers AOC “Côtes de Provence” were present at the Aqua Club on the famous Pamplone beach in Saint-Tropez on a beautiful sunny day, for a presentation of their new 2008 vintage of rosé wines. As always, there were very nice surprises with some great wines with very well developed rich flavors, but also some disappointments with wines that lacked aromatic complexity.
On the whole, the wines presented will be perfect for summer 2009.

After a delicious aioli lunch and delectable dessert the winegrowers spoke against the “rose cutting” (blending of white and red wines) that the EEC is trying to impose on Europe.

The news today…is Hooray for rosé!
Mariann Fischer-Boel waived the adoption by the EU with regards to the development of “rosé cutting” Michel Barnier, Minister of Agriculture french, has been engaged for several months in a dialogue with Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture to the EEC, and French wine professionals, to maintain the ban on combining white wine and red wine to make rosé wine without a geographical indication.
While the Committee had proposed lifting the ban, the French wine industry and the political deciders mobilized massively against such a project. With such a mobilization and serious economic arguments, Mariann Fisher Boel announced that it would not adopt “the “rosé cutting” manufacturing process.
Thanks to the rosé wines produced in their special way, France is the world’s largest producer of quality rosé wine…Isabelle

From * Reuters, Tuesday May 26 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8526164
(for the whole article!)
By Jeremy Smith
BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) – Rose wine producers from the world’s top three winemaking countries joined forces on Tuesday to fight a plan to let red and white wines be blended in Europe to make rose, saying it would kill their industry. Next month, experts from the European Union’s 27 countries will vote on a proposal tabled by the EU’s executive Commission to scrap a longstanding ban on rose blending. Many of the countries have said they will vote to end the restriction.
That idea has infuriated quality rose producers from France, Italy and Spain — the world’s three leading winemakers — who insist the two types of rose are utterly different and mixing two wine types to make a third is sheer anathema.
“Consumers know that many efforts have been made to improve the quality of rose wine and it’s not by taking a bit of white wine and a bit of red. You will never get the taste and quality of rose wine,” Xavier de Volontat, president of France’s General Association of Wine Production, told a news conference.

On May 25th, Isabelle was interviewed by Vladimir Posner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Posner) and his Russian crew as a segment for one of their 10 one hour programs they are producing on French culture for Russia’s Channel One, which will be shown in primetime in 2010 for part of a French/Russian cultural exchange. For the interview Isabelle created a rosé wine tasting for friends that included every shade of rosé – from the selection of wines to the appetizers and desserts. Everyone enjoyed the smoked salmon, tarama, breadsticks from Italy along with home made jambon & fromage mousse petit fours and bowls of strawberries and strawberry mousse. The dessert cake and all the delectables were served on and in Verrerie de Biot pale pink tiny bubble plates and glasses (www.verreriebiot.com). The Verrerie de Biot, in the petit village of Biot not far from Mougins, is a must-visit if you are in or around the Cannes/Nice area. Not only is it a glass factory, but it has a museum, restaurant and showroom filled with beautiful glassware from Provence. The Russians shot there two days later. Even our comrades now enjoy beautiful table settings and great wine.