rose

The guff about Rosé wines is quieting down, but if you are still feeling skeptical, the 2010 Matchbook Rosé of Tempranillo ($10) is a reasonably priced bottle to uncork. Grown in Dunnigan Hills near Sacramento, CA, this particular Rosé is made from a blend of Tempranillo, Syrah, and Malbec grapes, all of which are famous for making full-bodied red wines. The harvested grapes sit in their skins 24 hours to extract some of the bitter tannins and red hue. To retain its sweetness and height-of-the-Summer fruitiness, the blend is bottled and corked early in the fermenting process.

The Rosé is tart and astringent on the nose, like sour cherries, yet its ripe, syrupy watermelon flavor is unexpected. The slightly tannic quality makes it thirst-quenching, particularly on hot Summer days. While the days stretch long into the evenings, sip this Rosé on your patio with a large platter of manchego cheese, olives marinated in crushed red peppers, and Carr's Water Crackers. This wine has me thinking it's never too temprano ("early" in Spanish) for Tempranillo Rosé!

Photo: Susannah Chen

While my significant other has many redeeming qualities, there's a gaping hole in his heart (tongue?) where his love for rosé ought to lie. So naturally, I was delighted at the chance to sample a blushing bottle of the quintessential Summer wine this week. Luckily, the 2011 vintage from Rock Wall ($18) made a good case for its genre — it may have even made a convert out of the aforementioned naysayer.

Composed entirely of Grenache grapes grown in Davis, CA, and bottled across the bay in Alameda (practically in Sugar HQ's backyard), the bottle was tart and refreshing, balanced with a subtle sweetness (I'd describe it as teetering between dry and off-dry), and perfumed with the scent of strawberries and citrus. In other words, dangerously drinkable. Like many of its rosy brethren, it would be most at home in an alfresco setting: paired with cheese and crackers at a picnic or with salty appetizers prior to a hearty barbecue meal. Minor domestic squabbles put aside, I imagine I'll be seeing more of this varietal on my table for some time to come.

When it comes to Summer entertaining, my go to beverage is sangria. It's easy to make a large batch and must be put together in advance. It's a wine-based punch, making it lower in alcohol than its spirit counterparts and it has a fruity profile, meaning that most people will enjoy a glass or two.

I believe a hostess can never have too many sangria recipes and this is my current fav. It's a mixture of berries, Rosé, and black currant liqueur. The recipe, which comes from Mariena Mercer of The Cosmopolitan in Vegas, calls for soda water to add effervescence. However, I used sparkling Rosé instead. This sangria is better the longer it steeps, so get started now!

Since guzzling a couple of glasses of pink champagne is my single girl's cure to getting through Valentine's Day, I've been on the lookout for a great sparkling Rosé. While I'd love to try one of the nine bottles recommended by the San Francisco Chronicle, there's no super affordable option on the list.

However, I was recently sent a bottle of Mumm Napa's Brut Rosé, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. At $22, it's more than I spend on an everyday sparkling, but it's for a holiday, so it's worth the splurge!

This Brut Rosé has a dark blushing color, delicate bubbles, and a super fruity nose. It's 85 percent Pinot Noir and 15 percent Chardonnay and a wonderfully drinkable wine. It has a fresh, clean taste and light body. If you're in need of a good pink bubbly, I highly recommend the Mumm Napa Brut Rosé.

What's your favorite sparkling Rosé?

Sparkling wine's rarely inappropriate for an occasion, but there's also hardly a time more fitting to drink it than during the holidays. For a particularly memorable gift, I'll occasionally indulge friends in an over-the-top bottle of bubbly, but with all the festivities that go down between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I typically turn to wines with value.

Overall, American bubbly offers more bank for your buck than French champagnes, and among West Coast sparkling wines, one can hardly get a better value than with Schramsberg. Vintage bubbly is less common and more expensive, but this wine house offers a reasonably-priced selection. Sommelier Eugenio Jardim recently turned me on to the 2006 Rosé ($30).

The blush-tinted bubbly is one of the few left to be hand-riddled in production, and it has a bright, yeasty nose that conjures images of the season's best harvest — apples, pears, cranberries. Like Jardim said, it'd be ideal with Winter squash soup — but it's great alone, too. What are your picks for sparkling wines with value?

If you need a cocktail idea for a holiday party, birthday celebration, or other fun gathering, here's a delicious drink that is great for large groups: sparkling Rosé punch! Besides a sparkling Rosé, you'll need St. Germain elderflower liqueur, club soda, lemon juice, and sugar. Watch our video that we shot at Hip Cooks to learn how to make this crowd-pleasing punch!