Pink wine is divine. But like a lot of other innovative wine ideas (the screw cap, the bag in box) pink wine has taken a bad rap for years. Most people think all pink wine is SWEET and cheap. Not true. In fact some of the most coveted and expensive wine in the world is pink. ( Think: elegant lush Bandol rose wines from Provence, France. Ooo la la!)

So how did pink wine get a scarlet reputation? In the 70's the California wine industry was just beginning to grow as was a red grape called Zinfandel. Zinfandel thrived in the wine country soil and was made into a bold, dry red wine. However, the 70's wine drinking public wanted WHITE wine. So what could a California winemaker do with this fruity, spicy red grape to make it more palatable and profitable?

The Gallo Brothers put it in a jug renamed it "Hearty Burgundy" and made a fortune. But the thirst for white wine was yet to be quenched. So at Sutter Home Winery, Winemaker Bob Trinchero turned a mistake into a milestone. He had a barrel of Zinfandel that experienced stuck fermentation which means the yeast died off before turning all of the sugar in the juice into alcohol. This left Bob with a batch of pink, sweet wine. What could have been a brush with disaster became the blush of success. Pink was closer to white than red and America's natural proclivity to all things sweet made this combination a winner which we all now know as "White Zinfandel".

The French had been making rose style wines for years with great success. But the crafty Americans decided to call it "blush" which to this day can still be a tip off when the label on a bottle of pink wine says "blush" more often than not it will lean to the sweeter style. Wine labeled "rose" usually means the pink wine inside is a bit more dry.

After all it is a STYLE of wine making and most winemakers take one of two options when creating a barrel of pink wine: the rose/blush method (like Trinchero) or the French style of rose wine making called "saignee" (SAHN- YEE).

Blush/Rose style means the winemaker puts the crushed red grapes with skins and juice in a barrel, adds yeast that eats away the sugar in the juice upping the alcohol and lowering the sweetness. The winemaker decides how far to let that fermentation go and thus creates either a dry or sweet style of rose/blush wine.

The Saignee process has the winemaker putting full clusters of grapes into a barrel. No crushing. Just grapes. Yeast is added which starts the fermentation and the whole grapes naturally release juice. Sometimes this juice is also called "Free Run". Winemakers consider this to be the best or freshest juice of the batch which makes it perfect for rose wine. The winemaker wants the color and flavor of the red wine but not the bitterness or astringency which comes from longer contact of juice/grape skins.

Rose wines are wonderful with food. The acid and fruit from the young fresh juice enhances virtually any protein especially seafood, fish, chicken and turkey. You serve a rose wine chilled but as it comes to room temp the delicious quality remains. Think about this. On a hot summer day when you know your meal would be complemented with a big red wine like a malbec or shiraz, but the thought of drinking a bottle seems so heavy and hot... try a rose style of malbec or syrah instead. You get all of the "aaah" and none of the "ugh". And most roses look like rubies in the glass which makes the food/wine experience even more delightful. Real men drink pink wine. and sometimes they even have a second glass! Check out these affordable highly quaffable pinks.

2012 Liquid Geography, France-Made from the monastrell grape this crisp, dry, full bodied rose has lush notes of blackberry, plum and a smooth, round finish. Importers are donating profits from this wine to the TJ Martell Foundation and its medical research for a cure for cancer. Another drink good feel good kind of wine!

2012 Chateau de Campuget, France-Made from a blend of southern French grapes this medium bodied dry pink wine has notes of red fruit. Delightful with grilled tuna, pork or pizza.

2012 Crios Rose of Malbec, Argentina-Big, bold and PINK! Notes of mulberry, blackberry, white pepper. Quintessential rose for BBQ beef ribs.