Spring in Columbia is a celebratory time of year. Pleasantly warm days carry the scents of wisteria, azalea, and daffodil, the evenings are cool, and the city is alive with outdoor events. But bright flowers and longer days aren’t the only reason to rejoice. For many Columbia wine drinkers, the promise of summer marks the beginning of what has become known as rosé season.
Although rosé wines have been around for centuries, most Americans first became aware of them in the 1960s, when two sweetish rosés from Portugal began to make their way across the Atlantic. One was Mateus, sold in a very recognizable, oval-shaped bottle that was reportedly a favorite of everyone from the Queen of England to Jimi Hendrix. The other, known for its terra cotta vessel, was Lancers. The wines were so popular that by 1970 Lancers was selling 12 million bottles a year in the United States alone.
American winemakers hopped aboard the pink wave in the mid-1970s when Sutter Home’s white zinfandel took the market by storm. More than a little sweet, it created a new category of wine called blush. While popular with casual sippers, blush was never considered a serious wine.
Meanwhile in France, particularly Provence, which stretches from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea north toward the French Alps, wine drinkers were quaffing rosé, then a traditional local wine crafted from a bouquet of cinsault, grenache, and other red grapes. Dry but with a hint of fruit and bracing acidity, the wine was structured enough to be served with food but light enough to serve as a vin de soif, a refreshing wine light enough to quench one’s thirst.
Little by little, those dry Provençal rosés began to make their way to the U.S., probably first by way of Americans themselves, who, having sipped pink while on vacation in places like Aix, Cannes, and Marseille, began to request it at restaurants, cafes, and retail outlets.
Tommy and Faye Hearon remember well their first experience with rosé, which was the result of a serendipitous 1986 meeting in Bandol, an area of Provence that produces some of the most notable rosés in the world. The Hearons had been invited by a college friend of Tommy’s, Walter Wells. He was working in Paris as the executive editor of the International Herald Tribune, and his wife, Patricia, was an author, journalist, and cooking school teacher. They invited the Hearons to a neighborhood luncheon hosted by Lulu and Lucien Peyraud, owners of a winery called Domaine Tempier. “We met the Peyrauds and ended up sitting on the veranda eating lunch and drinking different vintages of rosé all afternoon,” says Tommy. “It was our first time drinking it, and we had quite an introduction!”
The Hearons made another acquaintance that afternoon, a Californian named Kermit Lynch, a wine importer who was bringing Domaine Tempier into the states. It turned out to be a fortuitous meeting. Unable to find the delicious Bandol rosés they’d sipped on the porch when they got back to Columbia, the Hearons reached out to Lynch, who offered to send them a case. “We have always loved French burgundies and were able to purchase them in Columbia, but at that time it was nearly impossible to find French rosé, particularly those from Bandol, which we find to be a bit more complex,” says Tommy. “Thank goodness you can get them here now. We drink them all year long, not just during the summer, so it’s nice to be able to just run up to the local shop when we need rosé.”
One of the people responsible for that change is Justin Daniels, who, in his position as wine director for Green’s Beverages, has a lot to say about the wines Columbians will see on the retailers’ shelves. “When I moved back to Columbia in 2019, my first task was rosé,” he says. “It’s become a very important part of our business. The French led the charge, but right now it seems like everyone is making rosé, which means there’s a lot of variety, from the pale Provençal blends to rosé of pinot noir.”
Justin says that sweet blush wines of an earlier era made things tough at first for dry rosé to gain a foothold in America, but that once people gave it try, they loved it. “Since the two wines look very similar, people expect the taste to be similar as well, but that’s not the case. Dry rosé has a longer fermentation, which burns off the sugar,” he explains. “In the United States, rosé used to be an indicator of low quality, but that has changed as well. Wine makers put a lot of time and effort to create delicious rosé wines. They’re not an afterthought.”
Rosé is also surprisingly diverse, offering hints of strawberry, lychee, and even red currant. Hues are equally varied, covering the red portion of the color wheel from palest salmon through bright Barbie pink all the way to deep ruby. “In a way, rosé is a bit like chardonnay,” says Justin. “Just as chardonnay can be lean and steely or rich and buttery, rosé is also produced in a huge range of styles.”
Justin notes, though, that single-varietal rosés, like rosé of pinot noir or rosé of merlot, won’t have the same characteristics as the red version. “Since there’s much less skin contact, you won’t find the developed tannins or deep flavors that you do in red wine,” he says. “But they’re all worth trying and are delicious!”
And while most rosé sold in stores and restaurants represents the latest vintage, plenty will improve with a bit of proper aging — meaning a cool, dark space away from the stove. Rosés from Bandol and Tavel, France, are often age worthy, as are Spanish rosés labeled “riserva,” which are aged for at least three years before they can be sold. Those age-worthy rosés are also more apt to pair with food, too. All that diversity means that for wine drinkers who want to give rosé a try, tasting is the best way to discover their new favorite summer refresher.
Rocky Menge is a firm believer in sampling before purchasing. In 2018 when he opened Palmetto Wine Sellers, which specializes in wine made by small producers in Europe and South America, he designed the space around a huge wooden dining table where customers can gather to sip and chat about wine. “People can get in a rut,” he says. “When a client comes into a wine store looking to try something new, the seller will generally make a recommendation based on what they like. If they purchase the wine and don’t like it, they might not be as willing to experiment the next time they go in. But if they can taste the wine, they’re going home with something they know they like.”
Rocky and his wife, Karen, first ran across rosé wines on a trip to Provence about 20 years ago. “It was dry, with just a hint of fruit, but perhaps a bit darker than rosé is trending now,” he says. “People seem to associate pale color with dryness, so wine companies are making them pale. In reality, they’re all dry. The darker rosés might be a bit more interesting, which makes them more food friendly and will allow them to age.”
Rocky says that while most of his customers come into the shop looking for classic Côtes de Provence rosés like Whispering Angel, he encourages them to try rosés from other regions. “If you want to stay in France, I would suggest trying rosés from the Loire Valley, which are made with malbec, cabernet franc, and other richly flavored varietals,” he says. “They have a very different flavor profile and are terrific with food. This is a great time to open your mind to rosé from all over the world!”
He’s right. In the 20-or-so years since French rosé began to take the world by storm, quality rosés from Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, and even Morocco are showing up on store shelves all over the Midlands. Winemakers from all over the United States are producing quality rosé as well, both blends and single-varietal wines.
Like any popular product, rosé prices have gone up as the wine has become more popular. “It’s tough to get a good bottle of rosé for under $11 anymore,” Rocky says. “In general, I think the average price for a quality rosé would be between $17 and $25.”
One trick budget-conscious drinkers might want to consider is purchasing rosé from the previous year instead of waiting for the new vintage to arrive. “I think most rosés can take two or even three years in the bottle,” says Rocky. “I actually like them better the next year because they’re more open and rounder. Any sharpness that they may have had is gone.”
Justin Daniels agrees. “A year will really soften a rosé and make it an even better partner for food,” he says. “The Bandol rosés, like Domaine Tempier, are made with a good bit of mourvedre and spend some time in oak, both of which give them all kinds of aging potential.”
Though Faye and Tommy Hearon’s love affair with rosé began with Bandol and specifically Domaine Tempier, the couple has branched out and now enjoys a variety of French rosé wines. “They’re easy to drink, very refreshing, and for the most part reasonably priced,” says Tommy. “If you don’t like rosé, I’d say you just haven’t tried the right one.”