Yakima Valley's Sin Banderas Rhône Rosés Complement Dishes with Asian Flair #WinePW #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the March #WinePW Yakima Valley wines event.

Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. 

This month, for the March 2021 event for the Wine Pairing Weekend group, Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles is hosting as we explore the wines of Washington state's Yakima Valley. You can read her invitation here. And Robin worked with Wine Yakima Valley to pair the participating writers with sponsoring wineries. 

If you are reading this early enough, you can join us for a live Twitter chat on Saturday, March 13th at 8am Pacific time. All of these posts will be live before the chat. Just follow the hashtag #WinePW and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it. 

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla doubles up with Yakima Valley’s Sin Banderas Rhone Roses Compliment Dishes with Asian Flair and Mediterranean-Inspired Dishes Paired with Yakima Valley Wines from Dineen Vineyards.
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass invites us to Meet Kerry Shiels: A Yakima Valley winemaker with Vision.
• Terri of Our Good Life shares two posts: Fortuity…Taking Advantage of Life’s Great Wines! and Two Mountain Rose and Fennel Wild Mushroom Tarts.
• Payal at Keep The Peas declares Yakima Valley Wines FTW!
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm matches Smoked Beef Brisket with Canvasback Cabernet.
• Rupal the Syrah Queen offers Yakima Valley - Red Willow Vineyards Producing Some of Washington's Finest Syrahs.
• Jane of Always Ravenous makes our mouths water with Filet Mignon paired with Washington Yakima Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Martin with ENOFYLZ Wine Blog gives us A Taste of Washington State’s Yakima Valley.
• David at Cooking Chat has two posts for us also with Lamb Ragu Pasta with Red Wine from Dineen Vineyards and Sin Banderas Rosé with Corned Beef & More Yakima Valley Wine Pairings.
• Nicole of Somm’s Table shares Big, Beautiful Reds from Yakima Valley and Tasty, Meaty Fare.
• Jennifer at Vino Travels tells us about Italian Grapes of the Yakima Valley with Sleeping Dog Wines.
• Gwendolyn the Wine Predator explores Washington Syrah: Hedges, L’Ecole, VanArnam with Lamb Stew.
• Susannah at Avvinare pours Malbec from VanArnam Vineyard in Yakima Valley.
• Lori at Exploring the Wine Glass shares Tasting the Soul of Wine in the Heart of Yakima Valley.
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles writes Yakima Valley AVA – Blends of friendship and history with wines from Eight Bells and Pearl and Stone Co.

Yakima Valley's Sin Banderas

Producing nearly half of the wine from Washington, the Yakima Valley is the oldest and largest wine growing region in the state. A couple of my very favorite things about participating in all of these wine pairing groups: meeting new wineries and playing with pairings. So, when Sin Banderas Winery* shipped me samples ahead of the March Wine Pairing Weekend event, I was so excited to make their acquaintance. Then Susan, from the Sin Banderas team, reached out to me and we spent a good hour in a virtual meeting (thank you, Google Meet!).  Additionally, she and Jacqui have been fantastic about fielding my questions about pairing, about their history, and more.

For today's event, I am showcasing their 2019 and 2020 Rhône Rosés, but I also received their 2017 Rhône Red and their 2020 Riesling. So, you'll be seeing those wines in different posts and pairings this month.  Actually, I already shared their 2020 DuBrul Riesling with my Paella Mixta. See!

I was tempted to call this a vertical tasting, but it's not really; I poured each bottle with two different dishes each...and on separate days. Still, it was close enough in timing for us to get a sense of the differences in these vintages.

One thing I did notice was the migration from cork to screw top. When I emailed Susan, she shared the social media post announcement they had made: "We’re making the switch to screw caps for our 2020 Rosé and Riesling. The growing popularity of cork-alternative closures has been a hot topic in recent years but we find the benefits will far outweigh the costs."

They posted...

1. Metal wine screw caps solve the “corked bottle” syndrome that ruins thousands of bottlings each year. A batch of bad corks can have an especially severe financial impact on wineries that only produce 10,000 cases or less per year.
2. They are easier to open and close and make enjoying the wine more convenient.]
3. They are less expensive for wineries and, ultimately, you.

2019 Sin Banderas Rhône Rosé

 At the 2020 Sommeliers Choice Awards, the 2019 Sin Banderas Rosé was honored with the title of 'Rosé Wine of the Year by Bottle' and also by the glass. I haven't been able to find the suggested retail price on this bottle since it's sold out everywhere, but if the 2020 price point is an indication, this bottle retailed at under $20. That's a steal for a wine of this caliber.

The 2019 Sin Banderas Rosé is a blend comprised of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault. In the glass, the wine is a a deep salmon color with lots of bright red fruits on the nose. At first sip, when the wine is just out of the chill, it has a soft texture that had just a breath of sweetness. As it warmed throughout the meal, the wine grew rounder and the minerality was more pronounced.

Since I wanted a pairing that matched the wine's playfulness, I served a Shichimi Togarashi-Spiced Fried Chicken. 

I also tried the wine with a Kokoda-Style ceviche. That's the Fijian answer to ceviche which incorporates coconut milk and it's a family favorite.

2020 Sin Banderas Rhône Rosé

Though the winemaking style and the grape varieties are similar in both vintages, nuances in weather and yeast can certainly affect the resulting wine. The 2020 Rhône Rosé is more typical of what I would expect from a Rhône Rosé; it's a little bit more elegant and delicate than the 2019. After pouring and tasting both, I found the 2019 alluringly complex and my preferred bottle of the two. Too bad it's sold out! But I did enjoy the softer, sophisticated 2020 as well.

Since the 2020 was more delicate, I wanted a dish that was still subtly spiced but didn't overpower the mouthfeel with crisped panko crumbs. I settled on a Thai-Inspired Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce.

And, at the same dinner for my plant-based husband - at least he's plant-based during the week!, I made a Thai-inspired Yellow Curry with Tofu and Vegetables.

This was such a fun exploration of Yakima Valley's Sin Banderas' Rhône Rosés paired with dishes with Asian Flair. The 2019 Rosés stood up  to a Japanese-spiced fried chicken and Fijian ceviche beautifully while the more delicate 2020 was a nice flavor foil to my Thai-inspired chicken satay and yellow curry. I can't wait to share my pairings for Sin Banderas' 2017 Rhône Red. Stay tuned...

Sin Banderas on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram

Wine Yakima Valley on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, on YouTube

*Disclosure: I received sample wines for recipe development, pairing, and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.