Now that the sun is finally here, you must be prepared with a delicious bottle of summer lovin’ Rose.

I must admit, I generally steer clear of ‘Rose’, due to flashbacks of white zin and dare I say, boone’s strawberry hill!! Thankfully, I was able to put aside my prejudice long enough to taste this beautiful salmon colored, dry rose from Commanderie de la Bargemone in Provence.

Commanderie de la Bargemone is among the foremost estates of the Coteaux d’Aix, a small fine wine district within Provence. The Commanderies’ red, white and rosé wines are grown on poor, stony soil which gives limited yields of high quality wine.

This 2010 rosé is a pale, salmon color typical of Bargemone Rosés. Classic Bargemone aromas of wild strawberries and mountain herbs. Dry and piquant, with excellent intensity of flavor and great balance. The texture is mouth-coating, but also fresh and mouthwatering, with a fresh and clean finish. 12.5% abv.

No matter what god awful white zins we sipped on in the 80‘s, Rosé wines are perhaps the most versatile, food-friendly wines around. They have had an image problem to overcome, thanks in part to the run of “White Zin,” as many consumers mistake Rosé wines to be overly sweet and in the category of “starter wine.”

However, Rosé wine sales are on the rise as savvy Wine Lovers have discovered that many of these pink wines fall into the definitively “dry” category, not sugary sweet, and the vast majority of Rosé wines offer a very good wine value for the money.

Some quick tips:

When to drink: Summer Sunshining Day

How to serve: Chilled

Pair with: light appetizers, salads

Cheers!