This summer has finally arrived and with it all of the accoutrements that one comes to expect. This year though, I  Rosé Tinted Glasses! notice that there is one such accoutrement that is being taken up, with some vivacity from the high season's wine drinking fraternity. This is, of course, the flowing shades of luscious pink Rosé. My partner (CH) can’t get enough of the stuff; having developed a zeal for light crispy fruits, she flexes the muscles in her glass holding arm and sighs with delight as the strawberry pink juice is poured in successive quantities. Even her mother exclaimed last weekend, “This Rosé wine is the only wine I can drink without getting a hangover!” And these two aficionado's are not alone! At more than a few parties recently, I have seen ladies producing all manner of pink filled wine bottles and proceeding to empty them with a consumed passion. I’m quite sure that if a bottle of decent Anjou Rosé were presented next to a plate of morning toast and marmalade, then it would be consumed with immediacy and pleasure, without a single thought for perils of breakfast boozing.
But is this simply an aesthetic allurement, akin to the summery-ness of strawberries and cream? Or, is there something to be said for the general quality of Rosé these days that is warming the desirous regions of the brain and forcing more people to act with impulse and without decision? A bit of both I imagine. The number of wine drinkers in the UK is rising at a fast rate and tastes are developing, as are habits. As the sun emerges then so doest the Rosé!
{mosgoogle} Rosé is made in one of two ways. The most common is that the grape skins are added to the grape juice and allowed to remain in the mix for a shorter period of time than if making red wine. The pink colouring thus ensues, as does a minimal bite of tannin. The second method is to simply combine red and white wine and presto, you have it!
Last year I bought a number of cases from www.uvine.com, the main was a rather inexpensive wine from Roussillon, France called, Domaine La Croix Belle (approximately £20 for a case of 6 excluding delivery). This is very light and crisp wine that is great for parties and picnics. It has hints of summer raspberries but certainly nothing overpowering and slips down with astonishing ease (it was this drop that CH’s mother accredited as being totally hangover free- more testing will be carried out to confirm this!). A few weeks ago I attended the Summer Wine Selection tasting put on by Jeroboams (www.jeroboams.co.uk) and came across the Rosé baring table. There are two that particularly stuck out in my mind, one was the Pinot Grigio, which is light and dry and destined to be quaffed in humongous quantities by all and sundry. It’s price at £59.40 a case is also very attractive to the active party thrower. The other wine here to note is the 2005 Sancerre Rosé. This is a fabulous wine, full of summer fruits that does distinguish it from the previous two mentioned (as does its price: £131.40). Tasted next to each other, these last two presented an interesting trip across the scale of what Rosés can be: both very enjoyable depending on your taste, budget and occasion! The empty bottles maybe clear but that wont stop our desire to see everything this summer through Rosé tinted glasses. Enjoy!
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