ROSÉS FOR ALL SEASONS

Pink wine is becoming a viable option for both red and white connoisseurs

News about a French rosé coming to market in the large format bottle typically used for malt liquor was all over social media feeds recently. Reaction varied from wine snobs, who sniffed the lowbrow package was trashy, to value shoppers who remarked 40-ounce bottles were more economical (compared to a conventional 750 mL, or roughly a 26-ounce bottle).

A blend of organically grown Gamay, Merlot and Cabernet France, the rosé comes from Loire Valley winemaker Julien Braud, who also produces a white for the Forty Ounce Wines brand. It’s reportedly on sale in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California and Colorado — markets that will no doubt drink up the 1,200 cases made from the 2016 vintage long before this coming Labour Day.

The thing that stood out in the stories posted by the likes of Bon Appétit, Time and Food & Wine was how they underscored the summery aspect of rosé. While pink wine has escaped the cliché notions that they are all sugary sweet, it seems to be forever linked with warm-weather sipping.

“Rosé season is right around the corner …” exclaimed the post at Delish.com.

Last year, rosé wine-infused gummy bears were the gimmick du jour and hashtags such as #roséallday or #50shadesofrosé were the talk of the web.

French wine drinkers enjoy more rosé each year than they do white wine, which has made that country the biggest producer, importer and consumer of pink wine in the world. (Italy and the U.S. rank second and third, respectively, as major markets.)

The approval rating for pink wine seems to be at an all-time high, but the last hurdle for rosé seems to be enjoying equal footing with red and white selections as wines for all seasons.

To that end, our Wines of the Week are two widely available rosés to look for in any kind of weather. Christopher Waters is the co-founder and editor of Vines, a national consumer wine magazine.