I would classify most of my friends as "wine appreciatists," not necessarily all out enthusiasts. What do I mean by that? Well, for starters they will not fight to the death to convince you that a particular merlot has more characteristics of a cabernet, or that pinot noir is the underdog of the viticultural universe.
If you are anything like my wine-appreciative friends, you have been traumatized by pink wine. More specifically, the likes of Beringer and/or Sutter Home White Zinfindel have made you lump together all blush wines and put them into the following mental categories: WineForThoseWhoDon'tKnowAnythingAboutWine, WineForBluehairs, BadWeddingWine, AirplaneWine, or WineForLongIslandIcedTeaDrinkers. In fact, when you see pink wine being served, you may steer clear of all of the wine selections under the assumption of a taste-level or quality issue.
Never fear! I hope to convince you that pink wine is worth drinking (often, actually). After reading a lot of the subject, I have decided to highlight some text from an astute article by Eric Arsenault (a contributor to AnnArbor.com and sommelier), entitled "Real Men Drink Pink Wine: A Closer Look at Rosé, a Great Summer Wine." I happen to think the same goes for women, but I get the analogy.
Let start with some basics. Here is what Rosé is NOT:
1. It’s NOT “BLUSH” (a marketing term crafted in the 70s to promote jug wine) and it’s not pronounced like the flower. It’s Rosé (Ro-zay).
2. It is NOT SWEET. At least it does not have to be. In fact most Rosé around the world is produced in a dry or slightly off-dry style. There are entire wine regions (i.e. Provence and Tavel in France) that are celebrated entirely for their production of amazing pink wines. There are sweet red wines. There are sweet white wines. The color of a wine is in no way related to the amount of residual sugar in it.
3. It is NOT CHEAP. At least it does not have to be. There are cheap wines in virtually every category of wine available, be they red, white, pink, orange, sweet, dry, sparkling or still. Again, the color of a wine is in no way related to the price or quality of a wine.
Being inexpensive and very easy to drink due to its sweetness and fruitiness, many Americans are first introduced to wine via the infamous White Zinfandel. Amazingly, it represents about 10 percent of all wine consumed by Americans each year. Unfortunately, White Zinfandel’s resounding sales success has unfairly created two associations with pink wines - cheap and sweet. But the qualities “cheap” and “sweet” have nothing to do with the color pink. There are plenty of cheap and/or sweet red and white wines all around us but we don’t blanket those wines in the same way we do pink wines.
Now, here is what you are missing:
1. Most Rosé is made from red grapes (Syrah, Grenache, Pinot Noir and even Cabernet are just a few). The juice from all of these red grapes is actually clear until the color is extracted from the skins. They’re made almost the same way as their darker-colored brothers and sisters that you are more familiar with. The only difference is that the juice spends less time in contact with the skins, hence drawing out less color from them. In case you’re wondering, this again has absolutely nothing to do with sweetness. One very important thing to note is that some of the most amazing dry Rosés are the result of saignée, the process of draining off some of the juice of a red fermentation to increase the ratio of solids to liquid for more intensity. So some of those big rich red monsters that you may hold so dear to your heart actually have a Rosé saignée as a piece of their wine making puzzle. And since the American public still doesn’t understand what amazing wines these are, the winemakers usually keep these small productions around the winery for themselves to drink. And believe me - they love them!
2. It is the best of both worlds. Rosé has some tannin structure like a red, yet is more crisp and refreshing like a white. This makes Rosé particularly perfect for warm weather.
3. Rosé pairs so well with food that its versatility is perhaps only matched by Champagne.
So here is the bottom line. If you thing drinking a pink wine makes you look like a novice, the opposite is true. When I see people drinking Rosé, I assume they must know more about wine than the average bear.
I strongly echo all of Arsenault's points! Please consider drinking pink the next time you are out (or even on your own patio). It is incredibly drinkable with many affordable options. Here are a few of my favorites (all under $20):
-Jeriko Pinot Noir Rosé (Mendocino County, CA)
-Vivanco Rose (Spain) Tempranillo/Garnacha blend
-Chateau des Karantes Dry Rose (France) Grenache/Mouvedre/Syrah
-Gruet Rose (New Mexico)- a gem of a sparkler!
Cheers to drinking pink!
