“Rosé All Day!” “Rosé All Day!” Let me hear ya’ now!

This is the perfect summer mantra. Light, refreshing, mouth watering, pink deliciousness in a glass. You know you want some rosé all day long.

Rosé is my go-to for the river, the lake or in the backyard grilling and entertaining. It goes with almost anything when it’s so freaking hot outside, hence the name vin de soif, or a “wine to quench thirst”. And those screw tops and glass “corks” keeps you from needing a corkscrew. Hazaah!

There are so many great choices now at your local grocery store or wine shop, and rosé’s growing popularity makes it easy to find. The styles are anywhere from bone dry to syrupy sweet.

Preferring dry or off-dry myself, we are going to focus on my “Rosé All Day!” choices from the Provence region.

A little history:

When the Phocaeans landed in Massalia, (today’s Marseille on the coast of southern France) in 600 BCE, they brought wine and vines with them. Back then all wine was pink because both white and red grapes were combined, stomped and left to ferment in large ceramic vessels. The farmers weren’t patient enough to leave the juice longer for color or flavor. They were thirsty! So when they drained the wine to drink, it was naturally a pink color. 

When the Romans entered the picture, “rosé” wine was already popular, so they used their business savvy to trade the pink wine all over the Mediterranean. And the rest is history.

Rosé All Day Styles:

Today there are three main ways of making rosé: 

• Short maceration – juice from red grapes stays on the skins just long enough to extract the desired color preference for the producer’s rosé, then drained and allowed to continue fermenting to the desired flavor and alcohol level;
• Saignée – meaning “bled” in French; some of the fermenting juice is drained, or “bled”, off red must after a short maceration period to be finished as a rosé; the rest of the must becomes red wine;
• Blending a little red juice in with white grape juice to give the finished wine a pink hue; this is against the law in Europe, but done in America by mass-producing wine companies because it’s a faster, cheaper way of getting “rosé” to the masses; pink champagne is actually made with this method because its flavor comes from the champagne process, not the from the base wine. 

Provence:

Eighty-eight percent of all the wines coming out of the Provence region are dry rosés, which is about 40% of all AOC rosés coming out of France, making France the #1 rosé producer in the world. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre and Tibouren are the grape varietals generally blended for rosé in that region. Notice that all these grapes are red, not white varietals.

Here are three rosés from the Cotes de Provence AOC, or appellation, that are on my Sweet Spot Price Point list ($10-$15). Check out the color differences.

Gris Blanc 2018 by Gerard Bertrand – blend of Grenache Noir and Grenache Gris; aromas of strawberry and a slight citrus note; tastes of cherries, red fruit and fresh minerality, crisp and dry; pairs well with grilled seafood salads, spicy dishes, Asian fare; 12.5 % abv. (alcohol by volume);  $12-$14

D’Orsay Rosé 2017 – unknown red blend; aromas of honeysuckle and floral notes; tastes of stone fruit and strawberry with a crisp mouthwatering finish; fuller bodied; pair with a cheese plate, salmon, tuna, roasted and grilled pork; 13% abv; $12-14

Mi Mi en Provence 2017 – Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah blend; aromas of wild strawberry and soft raspberry; tastes of strawberry, cherry and nectarine with a refreshing finish; pair with salads, charcuterie, fresh fruit, grilled salmon, grilled/roasted veggies or just an empty glass; fuller bodied; 13% abv; $14-$15.

And there you have it. My top three choices for rosés for all day from the Cotes de Provence that fit within my Sweet Spot Price Point list perfectly.

If I listen closely, I think I can hear a slight chant from the back row – “Rosé All Day!” “Ro-sé. All. Day!”

Until next time, enjoy the outdoors with a chilled refreshing glass of pink delight. It’s time to Celebrate Life!

Happy Tasting!

Christia