Time for Rosés

Photo by John Anderson

Time for Rosés

Texas summers call for cold drinks, so what's a wine lover to do? The answer is a nice Rosé – not the sweet pink wines but a bone-dry wine, perfect for grilled seafood, chicken, or pork. Rosés are also great for quaffing on the porch.

From down the road in Stone­wall, the Becker Provençal Grenache ($10) is a masterpiece. They lavish the same attention on this inexpensive wine that they do on their big guns. The reason is a universal one: Winemakers like to drink dry Rosés, so they make wines they want to keep in their own refrigerators. This is consistently one of Texas' best Rosés.

For a taste of the French style, Bieler Père et Fils Rosé ($12) has all the lavender and strawberry aromas married to big acids along with a little heft from Syrah. It's from the same folks who bring us the value-priced Routas wines.

California produces lots of Rosé, but they frequently just sell them at the wineries. Two that are available locally are competitive with the best anywhere. Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare ($15) has a screw top for easy opening and a cool label showing a zeppelin attack. They are mum about what grapes they use, other than to say Grenache Blanc and other Rhône varietals, but practice has made perfect, and after years of experimentation, they've got the formula down.

Tony Soter is revered by his fellow Califor­nia winemakers for the magic he makes with Pinot Noir. His Etude Rosé of Pinot Noir Carneros ($23) uses the same technique and fruit that would normally go into his $40 Pinot Noir. We recently had a bottle while friends grilled a boned lamb leg on a spit. The cooking aromas and the wine's strawberry/cranberry flavors put smiles on everyone's faces.

The Becker Provençal occasionally shows up at grocery stores, but for the others, you'll need to go to a specialty wineshop.