When talking wine in any serious way, the word “rosé” just does not seem to come up. Wine drinkers in the know can talk white wines and red wines. But most of us avoid the blush category as any reference to “pink” wines conjures up just one thought or memory — and for most of us, it is a memory we simply want to forget.

That forgettable experience many wine drinkers have endured is the drinking of the most well-known rosé ever produced, white zinfandel. Made popular in the late '70s and drunk with abandon during the '80s and well into the '90s, white zinfandel is still being produced and is available right now at your local grocer's. This sweet, thin wine bears more resemblance to Kool-Aid than to real wine and is the beverage on which many imbibers cut their wine teeth. This was the classic entry-level wine for many of us. We may have drunk this wine when we didn't know any better, but we have come a long way and our palettes have evolved since then. We have moved on to “real” wine.

Rosé wines are made from red grapes. After the juice is pressed, the grape skins are in contact with the juice for only a day or two. This allows for just a hint of color, producing a pink wine rather than a red wine. Many rosés made today are made dry or off-dry. Gone are the days of overly sweet rosés. Even rosés made from the zinfandel grape, like the white zinfandel of yesterday, bear little resemblance, if any, to the sickly sweet wine so incredibly popular just a decade or two ago. Done right and made well, a rosé can offer a lovely tasting experience and can be very food-friendly too.

Many high-end wine publications are singing the praises of rosé and have published articles touting the resurgence of this category of wine. Times have changed and talented winemakers are making very sophisticated rosés that really appeal to the tastes of dry white and red wine lovers. More of our local winemakers are producing rosés and many are quite good. These wines are weighty, with intense fruit and layers of flavor. Not at all like white zinfandel.

The challenge is getting wine lovers to open their minds to rosé again. The marketing of white zinfandel was so effective that most Americans see a pink wine and just assume it is a sweet, mass-produced, uninteresting wine. “Been there, done that, with no desire to do it again” is the feeling. This is what keeps many of us from seriously considering some beautiful, well-crafted and well-finessed blush wines.

Rosé wines are generally associated with summertime. They are perfect during the warmer weather months, when big reds can feel too heavy. Pink wines seem more playful than white wines so they fit with that carefree, summertime feeling. They are generally served chilled, and that too makes them the perfect warm weather beverage.

So you might wonder why I chose this time of year — just as the cool weather is upon us and cold weather looms ahead —to sing the praises of sophisticated rosés? It's because the holiday season is a great time to enjoy blush wines. Rosés are typically very food-friendly and pair well with many of our traditional holiday dinner items. A roast turkey paired with a fruity, dry rosé would make any guest very happy. These versatile, full-flavored wines can have broad appeal to a varied group of guests. This Thanksgiving, go pink.



Diane Clerihue-Smith of Roseburg is a wine and food enthusiast and local business owner who conducts tours of Umpqua Valley wineries. She can be reached at diane@oregonwinecountrytours.com.