Rosé is the harbinger of summer.

Around mid April, as the days begin to warm up, there is an perceptible shift in our wine drinking habits. Red essentially disappears from our glasses and fruity, crisp pink wine takes it's place.

With some though, rosé reputation isn't the best. The other night we brought a nice bottle to our French friend's home and as we were sitting in their courtyard, enjoying cold glasses of white and rosé, one of them declared that rosé is not really wine.

Not wine?

Now, this is not someone who grew up thinking that pink wine equals that sickeningly sweet abomination, White Zinfandel. She grew up in the south of France, where rosé is a popular summer drink.

Not wine?
Nonsense! We will continue to love our pink wine and what it symbolizes: hot sunny days, friends, blue skies, singing cicadas, warm nights, long lunches in the shade, outdoor concerts, sitting at a beachside café...

So, as the days begin to cool down and summer draws to a close, we will sip our last few glasses of rosé and anxiously await next spring.

A few pink wine tips:

Drink ice cold.
Avoid sweet rosé.
Avoid high alcohol content.
Drink the most recent vintage. This is not wine to keep in your cellar.
It isn't necessary to spend a lot of money on rosé.