The Chef and I (aka The Wine Chap) would like to ask our faithful wine and food followers to quit thinking of rosé as a ‘summer’ wine.
Listen, people, I am not even sure what a ‘summer’ wine might be but rosé is a year around wine. Case in point: The Chef and I just had a picnic in our living room, as you can see in the photo. It was a coolish day for San Francisco, temperature in the mid-50s and our favorite picnic spot (a table in the Presidio overlooking the Golden Gate) would be in the shade soon. So we packed our picnic into the living room where the sun shone warm and cuddly through the western facing windows, popped open a bottle of Marqués de Cåceres rosé from Rioja, ($6.99 at Trader Joe’s, yes, really) matched it with some good charcrut from The Spanish Table and Falletti Foods deli (handy in the ‘fridge) and enjoyed a splendid picnic.
Point is, rosé is a wine for all seasons. Sure, it is a great hot weather wine—something we rarely experience in San Francisco—but on a cool January afternoon it brings the warmth of summer into your glass.
Rosé is also a wine for all foods. The Chef loves just about any dish from the Mediterraneé, and we have yet to have one that wasn’t a good fit with rosé. Rosé is a must-match with paella, for example. Vegetables with rosé. Try it with Thai food, too. Snapper Veracruzano or Fish Tacos. Let rosé, an affordable wine, be your go to wine anytime.
Some recent favorites, besides the Cåceres, include Muga, another Rioja rosé, another Spanish entry welcome on our table anytime is Chivite Gran Feudo Navarra Rosado. From California, try a glass of Uvaggio rosé, or if you want to go slightly upscale, Bonny Doon Vin Gris Cigare is marvelous For bubbly, go to the Antech “Emotion” Cremant de Limoux Brut Rosé from France, Roderer Estate Brut Rosé from California or Segura Viudas Brut Rosé from Catalonia. Most of these are under $15.
So, please, no more nonsense about rosé being a summer wine. Think pink year round.
The Chef (Ann Walker) and The Wine Chap (Larry Walker)
