Nothing to blush about

By CINDA CHAVICH

For me, the fact that something sells millions, doesn’t make it good. Think of all of the fast food consumed every day or the latest bubble gum band.

So when I discovered recently that Mateus Rosé was the best selling pink wine on the planet, I was surprised but not particularly impressed.

Like many of you, I remember the rosé years – back in the 1970s when almost every wine consumed was a “Baby” something, a frothy pink bubbly with something cute and fuzzy on the label. It’s an era most wine lovers would just as soon forget.

But at a recent wine dinner at a local restaurant, as we stood around the bar nibbling trendy tapas at the bar, I enjoyed the lightly spritzy rosé they served with the starters. It was a little off dry, refreshing and perfect for the hot summer evening. The colour was deep coral – not the insipid pink of some“blush’ wines – like a nice Spanish rosado from Navarra or a Bandol from Provence.

No one was more surprised than I to discover it was our old party wine, Mateus.

While the good news is that our palates have moved on beyond cloying Baby Duck et al, it’s also good that we are finally able to appreciate a well-made pink wine. The world is full of delicious rosés, and we are drinking more of them – the French Cote de Provence AOC, where many of the world’s best rosés are made, has seen a more than170 per cent increase in exports to North America in the last five years.

It’s this kind of crisp and lightly perfumed rosé wine that’s gaining ground. From the famous dry Tavel rosés from the west bank of the Rhone, to the crisp rosatos of Italy’s Piedmont district and the intense “vin gris” from California’s Bonny Doon and Cline Cellars, these pink wines bear no resemblance to the insipid and sweet white zinfandels and other “blush’ wines of our youth.

There’s no doubt these pink wines are pretty. It’s especially nice to contemplate their pale peach or brilliant strawberry hues against the glinting summer sun, or pour them for a party. But they’re also refreshing to drink alone and with a variety of foods.

While rosés share the lightness and freshness of white wines, and the berry fruit flavours of reds, they’re not created by blending the two. Pink wines are made from red grapes, but the juice gets only brief skin contact - that is, the white juice (all grape juice is white) is only left on the crushed red skins long enough to draw out a bit of colour and body. Some winemakers run the juice off the skins immediately, resulting in a bare blush of pink while others let the skins and juice macerate for a few hours, creating a deep watermelon hue.

A variety of red grapes are used to make rosé – from the ubiquitous zinfandel in California to the pinot noir rosés of the Loire Valley. Some are made from Sangiovese, others with Merlot, Grenache. Mourvedre or Syrah.

Not only is pink wine a great thirst-quencher and quaffer, it’s the ultimate cross-over food wine – equally at home with white meat like pork or chicken, or hearty fish like salmon and tuna. The slightly off-dry versions are also often the best match with something spicy, whether you’re serving Thai curry or Mexican food. And the more extracted, intensely-coloured versions stand up to a variety of simple grilled meats.

Keep your rosé in the ice bucket on the deck to make sure it’s nicely chilled and don’t expect a pink wine to age. Buy it and drink it now.

Rosé may not be serious wine, but who wants to ponder what’s in the glass when the sun is shining and hammock awaits? Just think pink, like the old standby Mateus says in its new marketing campaign. Just don’t think too hard.

DRINK PINK

Malivoire Ladybug Rosé (Niagara) $15.50-$16.50 – lots of strawberry and red current fruit, crisp and nicely balanced dry rosé, organically-grown Gamay fruit.

Sperling & Sperling Rosé (South Africa) – Malivoire’s winemaker Ann Sperling joined forces with the Sperling family of Delheim in Stellenbosch to create this new, crisp pink pinotage for the Canadian market.

Cave Spring Rosé (Niagara) $13.50-$15 – Cranberry colour and strawberry aromas, crisp finish, from this Gamay-based Canadian rosé.

Quatroventi Rosé (Italy) $15-$16 – A blend of fragrant Malvasia Nera and Negroamaro makes a lovely, dry and flavourful pink wine.

Domaine Montrosé Rosé (Languedoc) $15.50 – grenache and cabernet sauvignon go into this fresh rosé with notes of strawberries and rosé petals

Chateau Val Joanis Rosé (France) $16 – grenache-based rosé, fresh, light with strawberry notes

Cline Oakly Vin Gris (California) $14.50-$15.50 – Rhone varietals like Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignane give this cherry/berry wine classic earthy and herbal notes

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare (California) $18 – the pink cousin to the Cigare Volant red, this lovely peach-coloured rosé includes six Rhone varietals, bright and fruity

Mateus Rosé  (Portugal) $9 – fresh, lightly effervescent and only slightly off dry, it’s the original pink

La Vielle Ferme Rosé (Languedoc) $11.50-$12 – organic and easy drinking, well-made blend of Cinsault and Syrah, fresh strawberry and earthy notes with floral aromas

Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Rosé (Spain) $10 – aromas of dried peaches and apricots, melon and spice with clean acidity

Iron Horse Rosato di Sangiovese (California) $13 – a crisp, dry and intense rosé loaded with fresh strawberry flavours, from Sonoma County

Fetzer Valley Oaks Syrah Rosé (California) $11-$12 – dry and intensely coloured, this rosé is a glassful of fresh raspberry fruit

Torres Santa Digna Cabernet Rosé (Chile) $14 – from the Maipo Valley, this deep cherry-colored rosé has a lot of cabernet character, red fruit and structure

(a version of this column appeared in Avenue magazine)

©Cinda Chavich

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