By Peg San Felippo

City & Shore Magazine

While rosé’s popularity continues to soar, things are changing in the pink-wine world.

Once known only as a summer drink, restaurants and wine bars across the country keep a minimum of one or two rosés on hand year round now. In warmer regions, such South Florida, rosé has even achieved permanent status.

“We assumed the rosé fad would have settled down by now,” says Jeremy Gow, Director of Food and Beverage at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina hotel. “However, it’s still the number one growing wine category and we are selling more than ever before. Originally, we only sold rosé on a hot afternoon but more and more customers are enjoying the wine during all other meal periods, including replacing some of their favorite reds at dinner, with a very food-friendly rosé.”

While Provence is known for great rosé, wine drinkers and wine professionals alike are also finding wine made with grapes from Sicily, Greece and Spain. “We have seen a recent shift in consumers being more educated about different styles of rosé,” says Gow, a judge at THE Rosé Competition in April in Fort Lauderdale. “The original customer was looking for something more off-dry, but as consumers enjoy more rosé, we are seeing a trend going more towards drier style rosés and our customers are now calling these regions by name.”

A rosé by any other name

Typically rosés have bright fruit, crisp acidity and are low in tannins, making them refreshing, very smooth and easy drinking. The combination of these characteristics is what gives it versatility and popularity to wine drinkers at every level.

There are no definite guidelines or laws as to what or how rosé is made, only that it gets its color from the skin of red grapes. (I can attest to this as I recently tasted one which included avocado in the grape blend).

Recipes

Rosé-colored cocktail glasses

Want to mix-up your rosé enjoyment a little this summer? Try it as a cocktail.

Summer Sangria

 Courtesy of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. A light, fresh take on sangria – slightly effervescent, not too sweet and perfect for summer.

Ingredients

6 oz. rosé

1/2 oz. St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur

Two orange wedges

½ cup fresh seasonal berries, such as blueberries, raspberries and sliced strawberries

Club soda

Method

Hand-squeeze two orange wedges with rind and drop into a 12-oz. glass. Add the berries, liqueur and rosé. Top with ice and add a splash of club soda.

Strawberry Fields

Courtesy of the blue at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, one of the restaurant’s most popular cocktails

2 oz. grapefruit vodka

2 oz. dry rosé
¼ oz. simple syrup
2 Dashes of rosé extract (found at Sur la Table or online)
Splash of club soda
2 Fresh strawberries

Method

Muddle the fresh strawberries in a shaker, add the simple syrup, ice, grapefruit vodka and the rosé extract. Shake well.
Pour it into a rocks glass or Moscow mule mug, add the rosé wine and top of with a splash of club soda.

Our recommended 2018 rosés

Goldeneye Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Calif., $30. Crown Wine & Spirits, Boca Raton.

Fleur de Mer Rosé, Côtes de Provence, France, $19. ABC Fine Wine & Spirits.

La Spinetta Il Rosédi Casanova Toscana, Italy, $20. The Wine Wave, Delray Beach.

Commanderie de Peyrassol, Côtes de Provence, France, $26. Virginia Philip Wine Spirits & Academy, Palm Beach.

Tasca Regaleali Le Rosé Terre, Sicily, $14. La Centrale, Miami.

Kim Crawford Rosé, New Zealand, $16. Crown Wine & Spirits, Boca Raton.

Ktima Parparoussis Petit Fleur Rosé, Greece, $24. The Wine Wave, Delray Beach.

Louis Jadot Domaine Clair-Dau Rosé de Marsannay, France, $33. Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale.

Maccagno Langhe Rosato, Piedmont, Italy, $15. Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale.