Grapes

Provençal rosé is doing the quick fade, at least when it comes to color. Popularity of the refreshing southern French pink, in fact, has never been stronger, with a 62 percent growth in U.S. imports between 2010 and 2011, according to the French customs agency Ubifrance. "It started with the yacht crowd in the Hamptons," one distributor told me, "and spread from there. " The fashion among Provence's modern rosés, however, has been to make them as pale as possible, and the best, like Château D'Esclans, manage to achieve this without sacrificing fullness of flavor.

Makes 6-8 servings 2 pounds red seedless    grapes, stems removed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper    (optional) 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss the grapes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, if using. 2. Arrange the grapes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until the grapes have wilted and given off much of their juices, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

The ship Bizen Reefer unloaded its cargo of Chilean grapes yesterday at Holt Marine Terminal in Gloucester City. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in efforts to protect California grape growers, has ruled that no more Chilean grapes will be allowed through Philadelphia's ports this season. For the Port of Philadelphia, it's the end of a key part of the year. About two-thirds of all grapes exported to the United States from Chile arrive at the region's ports.

Philadelphia officials are mounting a lobbying campaign to make fruit salad out of a federal proposal that would limit local winter imports of grapes from Chile. The lobbying is aimed at stopping a U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal to restrict duty-free imports of grapes, one small salvo in a growing international trade battle. Chilean fruit imports in the past four years have become one of the biggest money-making imports on the Delaware River waterfront, with grapes accounting for about 70 percent of the growing winter fruit and vegetable imports, according to Philadelphia Port Corp.

Fall table grapes are abundant in local stores now, and it's hard to resist buying a bunch. These days, any flame-colored grapes that make it past afternoon snack time at my house go into a dessert that's cool to look at and cooling to eat: a tangy ice or a grape tart. A long-ago issue of Sunset magazine inspired my idea for a lightened grape tart. A cook had mounded the crimson-hued grapes in a golden tart shell, topping them with a layer of creamy filling, then glazing with homemade port wine jelly.

An unusual growing season has produced a 1986 California wine-grape crop smaller than last year's, but one pronounced by vintners as superior in quality. The annual harvest and crush weighed in at 2.7 million tons, about 4 percent below last year's, the California trade's Wine Institute reported Wednesday. Growers said they were enthusiastic over prospects for the vintage. At Zaca Mesa Winery near Santa Barbara, assistant winemaker Chuck Carlson called the new grapes "one of the most well-rounded, balanced harvests we've had. " The growing season got off to a midwinter start, thanks to an unseasonal warm spell.

Two card games in a dark, grimy, longshoremen's hiring hall in South Philadelphia was where the only money could be found for about a dozen dockworkers yesterday. Normally, they'd be making about $18-an-hour unloading cases of imported Chilean fruit. But those jobs came to a sudden halt Monday night, when the federal Food and Drug Administration impounded Chilean fruit following the discovery of two poisoned grapes. As a result, 110 dockworkers left the hiring hall at International Longshoremen's Association Local 1291 without work yesterday morning.

U.S. District Court Judge John P. Fullam yesterday rejected a bid by Chilean grape growers and American fruit importers for an injunction to halt the imposition of tough quality standards on table grapes imported from Chile. Lawyers for the Chilean interests had said the standards would cut the volume of grapes imported to the United States, most of which move through the port of Philadelphia. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sets the standards, is planning to make them effective on April 20, rather than May 1 - the date they are normally imposed each year.

For years, the wine that Tony Valenzano Sr. and sons Anthony and Mark made from the grapes they grew was only a hobby. The real crops on the family farm in this Burlington County community were alfalfa and hay, not to mention the pigs, cows, steers, quail and pheasant they raised to sell. These days, the farm has a new look - and a new name to go with it. The Valenzano farm is now Valenzano Winery, one of 17 commercial wineries in New Jersey. More and more farmers are turning to the profitable production of wine grapes, while trying to overcome a perception that Jersey wines are not as good as those from other regions.

The Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday that it would not permit table grapes to be shipped or imported in 1988 if they contain detectable residues of sulfite compounds. The compounds, which help prevent spoilage, can cause deadly allergic reactions in some people. EPA spokesman Dave Cohen said the new rule, which goes into effect Friday, requires growers to test their grapes and certify that the amount of sulfites on them is less than 10 parts per million. Although that is considered the level of detectability, no safe level has been found for the compounds, according to an officer of a consumer group that has fought the EPA for 18 months over the sulfite rules for grapes.

WELCOME TO Cheap Buzz, where we eavesdrop as sommelier Marnie Old attempts to teach the joys of wine and fine spirits to Buzz, a guy with no sophistication and not much money. Here's their latest conversation: Buzz: I was reading the notes on the wine signs at the State Store and, boy, are they crazy! Marnie: You mean the tasting notes? Buzz: Yes. One wine tasted like "leather. " Another was "grassy. " The worst was the one that was "chalky. " though. Who the heck would drink a wine with chalk in it?

Provençal rosé is doing the quick fade, at least when it comes to color. Popularity of the refreshing southern French pink, in fact, has never been stronger, with a 62 percent growth in U.S. imports between 2010 and 2011, according to the French customs agency Ubifrance. "It started with the yacht crowd in the Hamptons," one distributor told me, "and spread from there. " The fashion among Provence's modern rosés, however, has been to make them as pale as possible, and the best, like Château D'Esclans, manage to achieve this without sacrificing fullness of flavor.

Makes 6-8 servings 2 pounds red seedless    grapes, stems removed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper    (optional) 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss the grapes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, if using. 2. Arrange the grapes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until the grapes have wilted and given off much of their juices, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

State Store Pick of the Week Brazin "Old Vine" Zinfandel Lodi, Calif. $14.99* PLCB Item No. 3219 Vines are just like people: They may get less vigorous as they grow older, but they get better at what they do. For winemakers, "old vines" yield much smaller quantities of grapes than young ones, but the grapes are more flavorful. This complex and layered wine is loaded with brandied cherry and molten chocolate aromas. It displays some beautiful "legs" when swirled.

You may see elephants, though probably not pink ones, at the Six Flags Grape Adventure from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Eleven New Jersey vineyards will be there with close to 150 locally produced wines for tasting. There will be food, music and a craft village, too. The optional Wild Safari package includes a private tour with a stop to sample wines in the African Plains among the giraffes. (The theme park section is closed for the season.) Six Flags Great Adventure is on Route 537 West in Jackson, N.J. Online prices are $15 for the wine event, $30 for the event and safari; at the door, $18 and $38. Details at www.sixflags.com/ greatadventure.

Bargain wine and France are typically not mentioned in the same conversation, but the combination of a struggling euro and revived interest in overlooked regions have produced some seriously good buys. This 2010 vintage of Le Fruit Défendu ("the forbidden fruit") from Domaine Magellan in Languedoc is a prime $13 example of how nonclassified vin de pays can demand serious notice when the right winemaker (and the right grapes) are involved. In this case, the vintner is Bruno Lafon, of Meursault's great Domaine Comte Lafon, who has brought his Burgundy know-how for fine wine to property near Montpellier in Pays d'Oc, a region better known for country juice.

Georgian wine, produced in the South Caucasus valleys, where the 7,000-year vinous tradition is believed to be the world's oldest, was once coveted in the former Soviet Union as the finest wine that rubles could buy. But Russia doesn't get to taste much anymore, since it imposed an official embargo on Georgian wines in 2006, as tensions between the two countries rose. Their loss is our gain. The popular Georgian brand Teliani Valley has made a welcome splashdown in Pennsylvania state stores, with wines that show both a rustic edge of Caucasus terroir and enough polish to keep them accessible for Western tastes.

The California wine business is full of contradictions. Little wonder. On the one hand, the industry cultivates an image of wine being an almost accidental beverage, a product of a munificent nature that takes ripe fruit from sun-dappled vineyards and magically transforms it into a liquid symphony that can ennoble not only those who consume it, but also those who make it. On the other, it is a ruthless, cutthroat business, one that accounts for...

Last week's "Drink" featured a southern French version of the mourvèdre grape (Famille Lignères Las Vals) in all its earthy, lush, and deep-red glory. This week's featured wine from Cline Cellars highlights a rare West Coast mourvèdre as a rosé, and - not surprisingly - it's no California powder puff. This lively pink brew is bracingly dry in the European tradition, with no oak aging, but a steely acidity that pops with quenching tartness. There's fruit in there, too, a kiss of early strawberry, perhaps, and something more exotic, like pomegranate, and a finishing touch of pie spice, but it's all well-tuned and balanced enough to be food-friendly for a light picnic feast.

Some grappas can be so rough and rustic, they'll strip paint and grow hair on your chest. This bottle of CM Sicilian grappa from Cantina La Torre, however, is another thing altogether - beguilingly smooth and sippable. Made from the pressings of nero d'avola grapes grown for wine by a cooperative of 900 farmers in the rich volcanic soils near Mount Etna ("CM" is the Roman numeral for 900), the skins, stems, and pips are distilled into a white spirit that is as elegant as it is feisty. A relatively new product only recently made available for sale online in Pennsylvania at the reduced price of $34.99, this is a bargain for a grappa of such refinement and complexity.