Karkadé Has Been Here
TASTING NOTES: “Strawberry, Citrus Fruit, Hibiscus, Watermelon” (AbV 11.5%)
VARIETALS: 100% Syrah
BARRELS: Stainless steel tanks.
PAIRS WITH: Fries, Salad, Thai, Chocolate Cake
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Hibiscus.
Hibiscus is doing a lot of heavy lifting in the world of “things that are supposed to make you feel good.” It’s in the tea. It’s in the mocktail. It’s on the spa menu between “warm stone massage” and “sound bath.” At some point in the last decade, hibiscus quietly became the universal symbol of “this is a wholesome treat for you, specifically, and you deserve it.” I’m not complaining. I’m just noting the workload.
The flower itself has been at this a long time. Hibiscus sabdariffa — the tart, crimson-calyx variety you’re actually drinking when you order hibiscus tea — has been cultivated across West Africa, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia for centuries. In Egypt it’s called karkadé and served both hot and iced, sometimes ceremonially. In Mexico it’s jamaica (say it: ha-MY-ca), a staple agua fresca ingredient so common it barely registers as exotic anymore. In many places it predates the wellness industrial complex by about a thousand years, which means hibiscus has been nodding patiently while the West “discovers” it approximately every fifteen years.
The color is the whole thing, really. That deep, almost aggressive magenta — it bleeds into everything it touches like it has a point to prove. Which makes it a slightly funny note in a pale salmon rosé. Hibiscus showed up, took one look at the stainless steel tank, and said fine, I’ll be subtle this time. Uncharacteristic, but appreciated.
PRODUCER PODCAST: Wonders Rosé Wine - Vin de France (1:21)
ICYMI, you have two choices:
Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from this sale, the page you’re on right now, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year (October)!
Want Protected Summer Shipping and don’t think heat will be a problem? Order from the sale linked here! We’ll still try to get them to you with as little travel time as we can.
Some places get absurdly hot during the Summer, and in particularly unpleasant circumstances, it can damage a wine. Most people get theirs no problem, but there are a couple each Summer that fall victim to the sun no matter how fast we get them to you. If you’ve experienced that before or are afraid it’ll happen to you, we’ll hold your order for you until October, if you order from the Summer Hold sale. We are reasonably sure things will be cooler then.
