National Drink Rosé Day is this Saturday, June 11, 2016, so for this week’s Wine Wednesday, I thought I would share five new rosé wines to try this weekend. Be sure to catch my Facebook Live segment on my rosé picks on Wednesday June 8th at 10:00am PST. Cheers!

National Drink Rosé Day!

You’ll notice that I don’t do a lot of blog posts centered around silly food or drink “holidays.” Oh, I’ll do things like go out and get donuts for National Donut Day (which was last Friday June 3rd, by the way), but as a food and drink blogger, I feel like it’s a little too cliché and gimmicky to do a lot of blog posts centered on these silly “holidays.”

But this Saturday is National Drink Rosé Day (while August 14th is International Rosé Day…so take notes and celebrate again in two months!), and with the rise of both temperatures and the number of wineries making incredible rosé wines, I felt like this was one gimmicky food & beverage day I couldn’t ignore. Especially because I’ve found that so much of the country still thinks of rosé as only being that sickeningly sweet White Zinfandel that you find on the bottom shelf of the grocery store and first tried at Aunt Betty’s house because she bought cases of it at Costco in 1989 and can’t get rid of it. White Zinfandel is unfortunately still one of the best selling rosés in the United States, but I hope to change that by introducing more people to the AMAZING other types of rosé!

Bottom shelf wine, no more, folks. Today’s rosé is beautifully crafted into refined and elegant wines that are perfect for summer sipping at picnics and barbecues.

What is Rosé?

The color of the wine you are drinking comes from a process called maceration, which is when the juices of the grapes to have contact with the skin of the grapes. Much like nervous parents watching over their adolescent child on his/her first date, winemakers only allow the juices to have little contact with the grape skins in order to create rosé wines. Once the wine reaches a color that makes the winemaker happy, the skins are removed and then the juice ferments.

There are many types of rosé wines, and today I thought I’d share three of the main styles you will find in the Pacific Northwest, along with five of my current favorite bottles. Try these and let me know what you think!

Pinot Noir Rosé

Color: Watermelon pink
Pair with: grilled chicken, summer salads, strawberry shortcake, sunshine and happy hour laughter

In the land of Pinot Noir, you can guess that this is the style of rosé that is most often made in the Pacific Northwest… and as a true Oregonian, it’s my favorite. I love the crisp, bright acidity that you get with this rosé, and the summery aromas of raspberries, strawberries, and watermelon.

I love the 2015 Durant Vineyards Pinot Noir Ava Lucia Rosé ($25). Made from 100% Pommard grapes and fermented 100% in stainless steel, this is a clean, well balanced Pinot Noir.

I also recommend trying the 2015 Stoller Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Rosé ($25). This whole cluster, stainless steel rosé has subtle floral aromas and is packed with flavors of watermelon and guava.

The 2015 Willamette Valley Vineyards Rosé ($24) is another Pinot Noir Rosé that I recommend. I love so many wines from Willamette Valley Vineyards, and this rosé is made with the same refined skill that all of their wines are made with.

Mourvèdre Rosé

Color: pale coral
Pair with: antipasto platter, herbed goat cheese, a big backyard party with friends against the backdrop of the setting summer sun

During a Yakima Craft Beverage Tour that I took this spring, I fell madly in love with the 2015 Gilbert Cellars Wahluke Slope Rosé ($20). First, the color is so striking, and not what most people think about when they think of rosés: it’s a stunning coral hue that looks like it belongs on an elegant ball gown. While it is a floral rosé, the Mourèdre grapes give it some weight and hints of white pepper and grapefruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé

Color: rich ruby red
Pair with: steak and cheese crostini, bacon wrapped dates, shared secrets under the summer night sky

If you’re looking for a bolder rosé that is still bright and lively enough to enjoy on a hot summer day, try a Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé like this one from AntoLin Cellars in Yakima, Washington. This is like the red wine-lover’s rosé: it has a lot of the characteristics of big red wines, but not as heavy and rich.

Which of these rosés would you like to try the most? What’s your favorite rosé wine? 

FACEBOOK LIVE WINE WEDNESDAY:
Join me as I chat about rosé wines on my Urban Bliss Life Facebook page Wednesday June 8th at 10:00am PST

I received some of these wines as media samples but have also purchased bottles on my own because I love them so. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.