Marglin on Taste

Well, they’re not quite red. Rosés are blush wines, difficult to classify because they’re a bit white and a bit red. They’re made like white wine, but from red grapes, and the juice remains in contact with the skins for 24 to 48 hours, which gives the wine its various pink hues (a very few rosés, particularly sparkling wines, are made by combining red and white wines, but these are the exception). While rosés are wildly popular among fine-wine folk outside the United States, for the most part, Americans tend to disdain and ignore blush vintages.

Every year I plead with readers to try rosés, and every year wine-store owners tell me the same thing: we can’t really sell them. (One, who shall remain nameless, carries but one rosé throughout the winter. He brings in a handful every spring, but even with his passion for rosé, he can’t move them, because Americans who spend a lot of money on wines refuse to spend their dollars on pink wines, except champagne.) The most popular theory behind this American rosé phobia posits that white zinfandel “” the fruity, sweet blush that took America by storm in the 1980s, coupled with pinks like Boone’s Farm, Italy’s Riunite, and Lancers and Mateus from Portugal “” killed the goose that laid the rosé eggs. Originally wildly popular, these wines eventually came to be looked down on as ” non-wines ” by fine-wine drinkers. Now, many wine drinkers have decided that rosés are beneath them, and it’s hard to teach those old dogs new rosé tricks.

So why do I plead rosés’ case so vehemently? For one thing, they please my personal palate “” I like their crispiness, the fruity rush. Their colors entice. Most of all, I love how versatile they are. Wine, for me, is usually appreciated best in the context of food, and in the multi-dimensional sport of pairing the two, rosés make for some pretty nice pieces of the puzzle. They offset spicy foods well, though I would argue that one reason Americans may not enjoy wine as much as they should is that folks who drink wine are partial to exotic and often spicy foods, but they are too often resistant to drinking the wines best suited to such dishes. When many people are dining together and many different dishes are served, a versatile rosé will often work best with everything (some can even stand up to red meat!). In addition to taste, color, and versatility, they offer variety: it’s a treat to drink something different than a heavier cab/merlot/zin/syrah/sangiovese or fulsome chard.

If you think you don’t like rosé, chances are you haven’t tried enough of them “” remember, they’re made from the same grapes as some of your favorite red wines. You can, of course, ” cheat ” by trying a rosé sparkling wine (I’ve recommended a couple below). Or have someone blindfold you and serve you a rosé or two in a flight with whites and reds at similar temperatures “” it may be that the pink color is throwing you off. And while rosés may not be for everyone, I would hate for such great wines to be overlooked simply because of their color. One might liken drinking rosé to affirmative action.

So trust me on this: if you like wine, in time you’re likely to realize that some of the best, most affordable wines to drink with a wide variety of foods are rosés.

2000 Domaine Tempier Bandol Provence. Very versatile, 40 percent mourvèdre, plus grenache and cinsaut. It’s copper in color, with strawberry and herbs, like a pie. Wonderful with bouillabaisse, spicy Thai, or a nice slice of pizza.

2001 Vega Sindoa Rosé Navarra. Bombs away! A fruit salad, 50 percent grenache, 50 percent cabernet sauvignon. I dig its bold fruit, but it’s not dry at all. Reminds me of a watermelon sherbet. Good with spicy Asian cuisines.

2000 Vinum Cellars Rosé It’s Okay Napa Valley. Despite the cutesy name, it’s actually more than okay. Cabernet that’s not deep, yet tasty and not too fruity; would be perfection at a picnic with turkey or pastrami sandwiches.

2001 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Zin Gris. Described on the bottle as the ” blood of zinfandel. ” Let’s face it: vin gris style or not, this is white zinfandel, made of bled juice run off shortly after crush. Unlike most white zins, however, this one was fermented in small oak barriques. Strawberry/raspberry flavors, high acid content, good with fried chicken or veggie chili.

1999 E. Guigal Tavel Rhône. One of the most consistent rosés in the world from one of the more reliable producers, this auburn-colored wine is bone dry and reminiscent of a lovely woman’s luxuriant locks. Berries, minerals, rhubarb, and a sensuous finish. Fabulous with a chicken caesar, cheese and crackers, potato salad, pâté, or your favorite cold cuts and mustard.

Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rosé Mendocino. At $20 a bottle, it’s the pink standard for sparkling rosé (sort of a poor man’s Bille). I could drink this pale-pink bubbly all day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and yes, I have). Fleshy, full, ripe-pear notes, a fine beverage, beautiful with salmon (smoked or otherwise).

Come the warmer weather, my wine ” mood ” changes, and I start gravitating toward refreshing, quirky white wines. I tend to drink fewer whites in winter “” and according to many wine retailers, I’m not alone.

Chardonnay dominates the US white-wine industry as the most popular varietal by far, in terms of dollars and volume. It’s both an accompaniment to food and an easy bar drink. Chards are safe, and I happen to love them. But in early spring, during these days of renewal and promise for the future, my palate longs for new flavors, new twists. White wines are almost always served chilled, and chilling wine reins in its flavor. Then, as the wine warms in the glass or in your mouth, the rising temperature unleashes some of its flavors.

Quirky wines are those with unusual tastes and unexpected aromas. Such whites are a challenge to pair with food; they’re more delicate, so care must be taken not to overwhelm them. Most wine drinkers have a pretty good idea of what foods go with chardonnay. But what do you serve with a viognier, chenin blanc, or albariño? It helps, of course, to sample the wine once before trying to pair it with food. But even if the pairing isn’t perfect, it’s still worth your time and effort to seek out some of the more obscure white varietals and ascertain which suits your particular palate.

I’m a huge fan of the Rhône varietals viognier, roussanne, and marsanne. These wines tend to be floral, with peach or apricot flavors. They can be a bit sweet, they aren’t light, and the latter two often remind me of nuts “” almonds, pecans, pralines. I find Rhône varietals work well with garlicky, lemony pasta-and-seafood dishes, and they can handle most green vegetables. American winemakers are starting to put some attractive wines out there at reasonable prices, and I’ve recommended two below.

Chenin blanc, from France’s Loire Valley, South Africa, and a bit of the US, makes a delightful accompaniment to fresh shellfish like oysters “” it’s racy and lean, and its apple and mineral notes play nicely off brininess and salt. You can drink chenin blanc with spicy Asian food too, especially a crispy sea bass or snapper. Some have hints of sweetness, others don’t.

From Spain, there’s albariño, which grows mainly in Galicia. Again, this wine is light, crisp, and racy “” great for fresh shellfish, as well as paella, stews, lobster bisque, cioppino. It’s not a complex wine, but it loves washing down such food, and it’s always under $20. Another fine Spanish white, Basa from Rueda, is a delicious blend of sauvignon blanc with the Spanish varietals verdejo and viura (a/k/a macabeo). I find it irresistibly floral, almost laurelesque, with a fruit-nut finish “” great with fried shellfish, calamari, or bird.

From Italy, there’s vernaccia, which can be one of many varietals (the word vernaccia basically means ” indigenous ” ), most notably vernaccia di San Gimignano, although excellent vernaccia is made in Sardinia as well. I also like arneis, a grape that reminds me of anise, which nicely undercuts antipasti and smoked meats or stuffed grape leaves.

From Austria, grüner veltliners are delicious. These have been taking restaurant wine lists in Manhattan by storm, and they’re excellent with fusion cuisine, especially slightly spicy Thai-based dishes (grüners love lemongrass and those Vietnamese spring rolls with mint). Most wine stores sell only one or two grüners, and their price tags can be a bit steep, but trust me when I say grüner veltliners are as quirky as white wines come.

While you might not think of them as quirky, because they’re so well-known, the Alsatian and German white varietals “” riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot blanc, and pinot gris “” all make excellent accompaniments to food. Rieslings love food, but they can be hit and miss, and the best are way beyond tight wine budgets. Gewürz is great with spicy Asian foods; the lychee-nut and apple notes deftly undercut most heat. Pinot blancs are tightly wound, focused wines, not as expansive as chardonnay, but reminiscent thereof. Pinot gris tastes of pear, apple, and peach blossom; it does chicken, turkey, and other fowls proud.

More often than not, I advise people to stick to wines they know. But in springtime, my advice is to explore new tastes: find varietals you’ve never tried before and give them a whirl. There’s a whole world of quirky whites waiting for you to come along and discover their secret delights.

2000 Karmis Vernaccia della Valle del Tirso Contini (Sardinia). Clean and vibrant, slightly fruity on the finish, sort of a mélange, but crisp and delicious. Try it with a ginger-marinated grilled salmon, swordfish kabobs, or simple pasta with garlic.

2000 Zaca Mesa Viognier Santa Barbara County. Big flowery wine, loads of peaches and daffodils, well-heeled enough for ahi tuna, smoked salmon, or any fish with a lemony bite, or with Mexican food like guacamole or tacos.

2000 Vinum Cellars Chenin Blanc California. Fresh and lively, not sweet like a Loire, but apple, minerals, vivacious finish, great with raw oysters, chicken caesar, a turkey dish, even a mustardy sandwich.

2000 Ojai ” Vin du Soleil ” Rhône Blend. Vintner Adam Tolmach scores again! Fresh, fruity, ripe peach, flirtatiously floral, bouncy wine that wows sausage pizza, Greek and niçoise salads, or fresh-grilled catfish.

2000 Frascati Superiore Conte Zandotti. Cheap, easy, reliable, dry. Made from a host of Italian varietals; really light and luscious.