Six Servings

2 medium fennel bulbs, about 1 ½  pounds with stalks, rinsed and trimmed,
leaving 1/8-inch of the root base to hold the fennel together
3 sweet potatoes, weighing about 2 ½  pounds
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced in half lengthwise, rinsed  thoroughly and drained

Flavorings, mixed together:
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup Balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoons minced garlic

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Cut each fennel bulb lengthwise in half, then cut the fennel into slices about ¼- inch thick and 2- inches long. Cut slices into strips. Put in the bowl .
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut each in half. Cut each half into slices about 1-inch thick, cut into strips, then put in the bowl. Cut the leek halves lengthwise again and then cut into strips about 2 inches long. Put in the bowl with the other vegetables.
3. Pour in the Flavorings and toss lightly to coat. Brush or spray a jelly roll pan with a lip. Arrange the vegetables in the pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake the vegetables about 25 minutes until tender. Uncover and cook another 10 to 15 minutes until they edges are golden brown.
Serve in the juice.

Transcription for “Discover Fabulous Rosés“, dated July 8, 2008.

Howie: Lightly effervescent, kind of dances across your tongue.

Nina: How do you spit so neatly?

Howie: Practice

Nina: I mean, I drool.

Howie: Three hundred a week. I practice in the shower too. That’s a good place to do it.

Nina: Hi this is Nina Simonds, from Spices of Life. And today we decided, let’s drink some more wine. So we brought in one of the most wonderful authorities on wine, Howie Rubin, who is the general manager and co-owner of Bauer’s Wine on Newbury St. in Boston. Howie, welcome to Spices of Life.

Howie: Thanks, this is a pleasure.

Nina: So tell me about what is going on with rosés?

Howie: Rosé is one of the greatest categories of growth in the wine business right now. In the United States alone, it’s up 53% in the last year.

Nina: There used to be this kind of snobbery about rosé. Why and what happened to disperse it?

Howie: People have long memories when it comes to wines they don’t like. So, for instance, they may have had a mateus rosé in the 70’s and it stuck with them as a ‘ugh, it’s too sweet.’ Or they may have experienced the white zinfandel craze in the 70’s or 80’s that they didn’t like. So it’s stuck in their minds that rosé is always sweet. And for guys too, it’s the color thing. Gotta get the guys over the color thing. But once they try it and taste it, they’re hooked.

Nina: You mean guys are into bold, like bold red cabernet sauvignon, manly, manly wines?

Howie: Manly wines. It’s not easy for them to pick up a pink wine and go home with it.

Nina: Enough talking about it, let’s taste some rosé.

Howie: We’re going to start with a little Gruet. This is a great story. This is out of New Mexico. Look at the color. The color is just beautiful. Just lights up the day. Great at sunset, to match the colors. I call this a pale and watermelon color. You’re going to get a great nose of strawberries and cherries. You get a little crushed nuts. There’s a lot going on. It’s a complex wine.

Nina: And this would roughly be?

Howie: $15. Very affordable. During the summer if you’re doing some backyard celebrations, you’re doing a summer brunch that’s festive, you’re gonna through out some nice local berries, some lighter cheese, soft cheese, this is the perfect wine for it. (Sips wine.) I’m tasting a red cherry, not a real black cherry. It’s typical pinot noir, but just has a little sparkle to it. Lively.

Nina: It’s very, very dry, and it’s got a wonderful finish to it. It’s a really great wine. What do you recommend eating with it?

Howie: I conjure up images of a nice, cold salmon plate, or salad nicoise with some eggs and tuna.

Nina: And what’s this next one?

Howie: Our next wine is Commanderie de Peyrassol, that is from Provence. Cotes de Provence. 8% of the world’s rosé’s come from Provence, the home of rosé. This one is gonna have some cinsault, which is a funky grape. It’s gonna have some syrah, which is one of the main grapes of Provence. And there’ll be some grenache. So the grenache is gonna give you the really bright strawberry fruit in the nose. Cinsault gives it a little herb, a little fresh herb. And the syrah gives it a little weight. When I’m drinking rosé I’m always holding it up to the light or to the sun or to something, just to bring out that color.

Nina: And this is gorgeous.

Howie: Beautiful. This is a pale salmon color, a salmon blush. This is classic Provence.

Nina: What do you think? It’s much tarter.

Howie: Dry, dry, dry. Tart. Dry. There’s a distinct minerality to this wine. I would like it with bouillabaisse, shellfish, shrimp, keep it simple.

Nina: I would like it with a rich cheese, because it’s very acidic.

Howie: The acid level is high in this wine, so you need something to match the acid level.

Nina: And this would retail for?

Howie: This is roughly $20.

Nina: Thank you Howie. Let’s toast. This is the first in our series of rosés and we’re going to have two more coming up. So stay tuned to see which rosés Howie is going to choose in the next rosé Spices of Life. So cheers!

Howie: Thank you Nina!

Nina: And here’s to rosé.