Why Do We Still Need to Apologize for Rosé?
Written by Michele Anna Jordan on 2008-09-16 20:59:11
My friend Katie up and moved to the East Coast last winter. After completing a course in black and white photography-- film! go, Katie!--at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Maine, she has landed in Brooklyn for a while to look for a job. She’s a genius sound engineer as well as an excellent photographer and whoever snags her will be lucky. She was engineer at KRCB FM for several years and we had great fun making crazy promos. I get email updates from her now and then and the one that came last night got me to thinking.
She and a friend stopped by a wine shop in Brooklyn and asked the clerk for recommendations. Thirty minutes and lots of talk later, they left with a rosé.
“I know, rosé,” she apologized, “but it was good with pizza.”
It’s okay, I wrote back right away, rosé is cool. Katie is young and not all that experienced with wine so she gets a pass.
But the idea is prevalent, including among drinkers who should know better. Why do we still need to apologize for rosé? When is it going to lose the taint smeared on it by white zinfandel?
Rosé has many qualities that make it a great choice as an aperitif and as a table wine to enjoy with a wide range of foods. Most rosés are relatively inexpensive, they are dry (i.e., not sweet) and they have bright, crisp acidity and subtle but pleasing flavors that complement many foods.
A rosé is the best choice with classic dishes Provence such as bouilliabaise, Grand Aîoli and pissaladiére. It is often the best match with Hawaiian luau foods such as lomi lomi salmon, squid luau and kalua pork. It stands up to a bit of heat, making it good with Mexican and Southeast Asian cuisines, and it is refreshing with any Italian-style dish that includes cooked tomatoes, including Katie’s pizza.
Here are a few of my favorite rosés:
Preston Vin Gris
Iron Horse Rosé de Pinot Noir
Iron Horse Rosato di Sangiovese
Bonterra Mendocino County Rosé
Saintsbury Vin Gris
Patio Pink from Russian Hill Estate, currently sold out and available only at the tasting room when in stock. At $14 a bottle and utterly refreshing and delicious, it is worth watching.
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