Rosé on the rise

Too bad Rosé isn’t traded on the stock exchange, because sales are on the rise!

An article today in Wines and Vines tells us that Rosé may be shedding its oh so wrong image of a sweet wine for beginners. The bad public opinion of the beautifully pink drink stems from images of drinking White Zinfandel and other sickly (in my opinion) sweet pink wines that arose in the late 70’s through the early 80’s (I think my dates are right).

But Rosé is a wonderful wine that Megan and I really got into last year and if you read the W&V article, we aren’t the only ones. Rosés that are made in the traditional dry or slightly off-dry style are the best of both the red and white wine world. You get more body and the nice light red fruit notes from the red side of the family, and the crisp refreshing aspects from the white side of the family. Rosés go very well with many traditional food dishes included fresh cut fruit, which is a perfect pairing for a hot afternoon on the deck or at the beach. My favorite food pairings for a good dry Rosé are Indian and Thai dishes, where I would normally choose a Gewürztraminer or a Riesling. For summer time deck parties I usually have a bottle or two in the ice chest next to the beer and it is always a big hit. More evidence of Rose’s resurgence is its appearance on more and more winery tasting sheets. And the winery tasting room staff are usually quick to say something like “this is done in the dry or French style, so don’t worry.” I always get a kick out of that!

For Virginia readers of this blog wanting to buy local and think you cannot get a good dry Rosé here in the Commonwealth, think again. Some Virginia wineries are putting out some very nice Rosés that can go toe to toe with their domestic and foreign counterparts. Just a few of the wineries I have sampled from are Barboursville, Kluge, DelFosse, and Woodland Vineyard.

Cheers!