Drink Pink All Year!

Rosé is Not Just for Summer

You may have tucked away your linen pants and white shoes after Labour Day but the end of summer doesn’t mean you need to stop drinking rosé! Quite the opposite, in fact, as the diversity of styles of flavours make rosé the perfect food pairing wine in every season.

Rosé is made from many different red grape varieties and the most common way to make rosé is through skin contact or maceration, a process during which red grapes are left in the pressed juice for a period of time and then the entire batch of juice is fermented into a rosé wine. The period of skin contact (ranging from just a few hours to a few days) will determine not only the colour of the wine, but also the structure (longer skin contact generally results in a wine with more tannins extracted from the grape skins) and the intensity and complexity of flavours. From structured and bold to fresh and delicate, all rosé wines offer delicious combinations of red and citrus fruits, fresh herbal notes, savour and spice. 

Hugely popular in the South of France, there are many styles of rosé in the region, but perhaps none so versatile as the dry, savoury, medium-bodied blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah from Château Pesquié. This is a wine that will stand up to big flavours like anchovies, olives, garlic and saffron and will pair beautifully with Niçoise salads or Paella. It is a wine to drink during the fall barbeque season with grilled fish and chicken and even lamb with herbs. It is also perfect as an apéritif with rustic pâtés and terrines, charcuterie and sheep’s milk and blue cheeses. As we move into the comfort cooking of the colder months, this rosé will pair with baked ham, cheese soufflé, potato-leek soup and perhaps most importantly right now, it is the perfect wine for your upcoming turkey dinner at Thanksgiving. So don’t bid farewell to rosé as you welcome autumn this week: you can drink this pink all year long!

Château Pesquié Terrasses Rosé is available through The Vine Agency.

Until next time, enjoy your wine!

Anjana