Rose for Every Guest

In the warm lazy evenings this summer, consider breaking away from your go-to white wine spritzer or cold beer and try a refreshing glass of dry rosé.

Words like sweet and feminine may come to mind when you hear the word rosé, but a look past the White Zinfandels and the fat-bottomed bottles of Mateus will lead you to dozens of excellent options available throughout the city.

The process that creates the delicate pink colour in a rosé involves leaving the wine on the skins of the grapes for a shorter time that would be necessary to produce a red. As a result of this lighter treatment, the wine has less tannin – a terrific benefit for the wine drinker who normally stays away from reds because of the tannin. Rosés are rarely oaked, so again, if you don’t care for heavy oak flavours, rosé could be a great choice.

Rosé may be produced from nearly any red wine grape but those with less colour and more acid such as Grenache, Cinsault, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir grapes are most commonly used.

Visit your neighbourhood wine shop and ask for a dry rosé. I recommend Whispering Angel ($30). It has crisp summery flavours of strawberry and raspberry, mouth-watering acidity and an amazingly long, dry finish.  This wine is a perfect pairing for shellfish. It is produced by Chateau d’Esclans along with two other rosés worth mentioning: The Palm, ($20) and Garrus ($100), considered one of the best rosés in the world.

Want something a little bolder with more bite? The Beaurevoir Tavel by Marc Chapoutier is a full-bodied rosé with a hint of spice that will knock your socks off ($25).