Summertime—and the dining is easy.
With long hours of daylight, this is the time of the year to enjoy outdoor meals that fade into the starry twilights. The downside is that the temperatures can climb to most uncomfortable heights, which makes matching wine and food a challenge. Fear not. The universal quaff for these months is the delicious and versatile rosé.
Not just any pink wine qualifies as a good rosé. White Zinfandel is technically a rosé wine, but its inability to match food makes it a poor candidate at a nice grill-side meal.
There are two major ways to make rosé. One is to blend red and white wines together. Hopefully, the best features of the two will shine, while any shortcomings will fade into the background. The other method is to take red grapes and drain the juice from the crush before too much of the skin color is absorbed into the wine. The result is a drink that is light enough to be refreshing while still able to match food. Most rosés have good acidity, which helps to cut through the many flavors at your picnic. Moderate alcohol levels are another plus.
The history of rosés in America is inauspicious at best. Take away the popularity of white Zin, and you have to go back to a time when the biggest selling pink wines came from Portugal in odd-shaped bottles that seemed to sprout candles when they were empty. Nowadays, these same types of beverages are available from all over the globe. According to Wine Enthusiast magazine, from 2011 to 2012, imported rosé increased 28 percent in the United States. As a trend, this is huge. Rosé is available from Germany, which has always been a bastion of white wine-making.
The ones that I like the best come from southern France. The wines are made by running the free juice from the grapes before it is too dark. The grapes themselves are the same ones that are grown in the Rhone valley. Syrah and Grenache dominate, while lesser varietals are used in blending. Personally, I have not found wines made with Bordeaux grapes or even Pinot Noir from Burgundy to my liking. However, the jury is still out, and I may come across one that has what I like.
The Rhone rosés seem to me to be the best of the lot. Chill them down nicely, and they can be drunk for pure refreshing pleasure. These quaffs can match grilled foods, be they fish, barbecue or even grilled vegetables. Their brisk acidity, combined with fruit flavors that range from strawberry to peach with an inherent ability to stand up to baked beans, make these standouts at any outdoor affair. Check the labels, as most pink wines have a list of grape varieties that are in the bottle. Chill well and notice how the flavors expand as the wine slowly warms. It doesn’t get much better.
Keep sipping, Steve
