It’s a simple pot-luck format with the addition of a lucky ice bucket. Bring a bottle of rosé and/or something to nosh on, and we will all be in the pink. It’s an event that we’ve been holding for several years now, and this time, rather than waiting until last moment of good weather, we held ours in June near the river. It was an early season day, with unstable air and frequent showers that threatened to darken the party, but clouds eventually parted for the entire length of the affair, dropping drizzle only when we were cleaning up. It was so much fun exploring the rosé wine spectrum, that with the impending arrival of mid August visitors, we’ve decided to to have Rosé Deux and celebrate the glory of waxing summer.
Chateau Montaud – Cotes de Provence – always reliable balance of soft fruit with crisp edges…versatile.
It’s a fallacy that rosé is a summer drink…it’s worthy of our tables all year long, and I treat it that way. The commercial distribution cycle, however, favors mid summer deliveries of these limited quantity bottles, and the earlier you can nab yours the better because the displays disappear faster than chilled glasses do on a hot summer day. Rosé, because of its composition, is in general, not supposed to last long in the cellar. While there may be notable exceptions, it is a style of wine that can last a year or two before it begins to pale in intensity. Maybe its short lifespan is part of what links it to the brief passionate hedonism of summer in these parts.
Bonny Doon Vineyards – Rosé Ave – 100% Mourvedre – red wine disguised as a pink. Even the most macho among us would have a hard time arguing against going this route.
Don’t just take it from me…rosé sales have been growing year after year. Pink wine has become serious business. It has taken on craze proportions. Folks out in LA even have Alice Feiring giving them recommendations. Rosé is here to stay, and the sooner you make it part of your repertoire, the sooner you will know how to truly soirée.
An intriguing rusty orange rosé from Hudson-Chatham Winery made from a blend of white, pink, and red cold hardy grapes.
Get a couple of dozen friends together to bring pink wines of their own choosing and I bet there may only be one, maybe two duplicate bottles in the bunch. We usually end up with three cases or more for folks to sample from. The flexibility of rosé means that it will generally go well with the eclectic foodstuffs that appear at such occasions. You’ll taste wines from all over the world that run the gamut from fresh to wide, dry to sweet, fruity to mineral and light-weight to heavy-duty. It’s the perfect venue for someone who “does not like rosé” because they cannot help but have their preconceptions and biases blown. I’ve seen it year after year. If you cannot find a rosé that you like, then you do not actually like wine. The season is fading so mark some pink on your calendar.
