Fabulous Rosé Wine

Click here to see the transcription for this video.

It was so much fun learning about great rosé wines from wine authority Howie Rubin, of Bauer Wines.

Howie has been a familiar face and voice to Bostonians for years.  He’s been writing and lecturing about wine on radio stations WFNX, WBCN and local TV, and now he’ll be a regular here, dispensing great advice and wine tips to you, our users.

We welcome your comments and questions.

Enjoy!
Nina

Howie’s Rap on Rosés 

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve always enjoyed the subtle qualities of a good rosé wine, dating back to since the late 1970’s, when we were pouring rosé by the glass at the London Wine Bar in San Francisco. It is with mixed feelings that I witness this prolific rise in rosé’s popularity over the last five years. On one hand, I’m glad that there is now a new wave of rosé -wine lovers, but on the other hand, fashionable trends like this (goodbye Merlot, hello Pinot Noir) often leads to overproduction and the watering down of a particular style of wine. But in the meantime, let’s ride the rosé wave, as sales of the pink are up about 53% in the United States, and a statistic that I find mind-boggling though, is that rosé sales have surpassed white wine sales in France. That’s a statistic I find mind-boggling. Now, there’s an awful lot of great white French wine to be had, so this means rosé must be here to stay.

We are now seeing rosé’s from every red-wine growing region in the world, ranging from South African Pinotage Rosé, to Spanish Garnacha Rosé, to Sardinian Cannanau Rosé, to Oregon Pinot Noir Rosé. The list is both endless and exciting at the same time, and now is the time of year to be enjoying a nice chilled glass of the pink stuff! Some people avoid rosé because they still associate it with the sticky sweet Mateus Rosé or the white zinfandels of the 80’s. ….but that’s as antiquated a notion as equating Chianti with a fizzy red wine in a wicker bottle. Rosé producers could do themselves a service by denoting the level of sweetness on either their front or back labels.

The joy of a good rosé is its ability to go with everything on the table or go with nothing at all. There is no better aperitif than a nice chilled glass of rosé at the end of a hot summer day. Its refreshing qualities pair well with Summer salads, fresh fruit, or just about anything coming out of the ground during the summer. Don’t even get me started on the rosé and heirloom tomato marriage!

So, if you’re heading to the beach or out on a picnic, be sure to pack something colorful and easy to drink: Rosé. Prices do vary depending on the region and producer, and if you fell like shelling out a few bucks on a stellar rosé, you will be greatly rewarded.

Cheers,
Howie Rubin, Bauer Wines

DOWNLOAD
Quicktime 320×240 (.mov)
Quicktime 640×480 (.mov)