2002 Le Printemps Rose

The 2002 Le Printemps is as pretty a rose as you’ll find anywhere. Tinted the delicate pink of rose petals, lightly perfumed with wild strawberries, it could easily be mistaken for a rose from Bandol. But Le Printemps is about half the price, for one thing, and these grapes hail from cool-climate Mendocino County, not the south of France. A tremendously food-friendly wine, Le Printemps drinks beautifully with shrimp and other shellfish as well as grilled fish. It’s a natural with a classic bouillabaisse. It also makes a swell aperitif.

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Quick swirl

Region: Mendocino County, Calif.

Price: About $10

Style: Dry and delicate

Food it goes with: Shrimp, grilled fish, bouillabaisse

Where you find it: Bent on Coffee and Wine in Thousand Oaks, (805) 379-2402; Lazy Acres Market in Santa Barbara, (805) 564-4410; Wade’s Wines in Westlake Village, (818) 597-9463; Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454; and the Wine House in West Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731.

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-- S. Irene Virbila