Each Spring, right after the earnest but plebeian daffodils shrivel and my over-abundant camelia languishes, the backyard gives me a not-so subtle wine tip. The redbud is screaming up a pink storm: must be Vin Gris Time! And what better place to enjoy that mild-weather-heralding lightness of fruit and mouthwatering acidity than on the back porch? (Though the front stoop of a certain boy's house is rather nice, too.) It pairs easily with everything from pretzel rods to seared scallops with bacon and arugula, and readily facilitates late-night kitchen klatches with Kerensa (roommie extraordinaire).

Most of you are not new to the world of pink, but a little background information might convert another infidel: When pressing red grapes, the amount of skin contact determines the intensity of color (a little makes rose, a lot makes a red wine). Then the wine can be fermented totally dry or left with a little residual sugar. Vin Gris ("grey" wine from a "black" grape) is the name used in Burgundy for a pink wine made from Pinot Noir. Saintsbury makes theirs a Vin Gris Saigné, a wine made from juice “bled” from the Pinot Noir tanks before the fermentations begin. Then the juice is placed in older French oak barrels to ferment dry, bottled in late winter and finally released in early April, not more than seven months after it was harvested.

The color of Saintsbury's "Vincent Vin Gris" is a bright, clear cherry-lollipop red rather than a traditional pale blush, and the flavors bring to mind red fruits, berries and unmistakably earthy Pinot notes, with a slight hint of apple blossom (though that may be a product of my backyard as well). It has a surprising amount of body and finish, making it a candidate for both savoring AND quaffing.

Sadly, much like that redbud, Vincent Vin Gris has a vibrant but short life span--very little is made and only a fraction of that is brought into Virginia. We have just 10 bottles left after rampant staff pilfering.

Think Pink!