Almost the entire time we were in the south of France, we noticed that the French, in table after table in bars and restaurants, were drinking Rosé. Something I've always kind of snubbed my nose at, thinking it was a somewhat sweetish concoction that would make me spit up!

But on our last night in Nice, curiosity got the better of me, and I asked the waiter at the pizzeria if it was dry. He assured me it was, and brought me a demi bouteille of the area's local cheap rose colored drink.

I am now a CONVERT!!! Light, refreshing, 12.5 alcohol content, it was yummy delicious! Now I found the reason why in the south of France the Provence Rosé consistently outsells the white.

In fact, my husband, the beer drinker, tasted it and . . . hold on! Liked it more than his beer!

While my mom and my sister spent 185 euro for their last dinner at a nice restaurant along rue Massena eating fish and drinking 2 1/2 bottles of expensive wine, our absolutely fabulous last night's meal of moules & frites and 4 cheese pizza, a large pression and the half bottle of rose only set us back 42 euro.

NICE!

Rosé has been rising in popularity for many years now and has passed white wine for the #2 popularity slot. One of the biggest changes is that it used to be considered just a summer holiday wine in France, but now more and more people drink it in the winter, especially in ski resorts.

Americans might like the fact that it shocks absolutely nobody if you put an ice cube or two into your glass of rosé.

French Rose is a delightful wine to drink. Just don't EVER confuse it with white zin!! LOL Glad you have discovered it. Trader joe's has some very nice ones--$5 or so.

In May in Uzes we fell in love with the roses, too, and have tried several back home now; have found some good ones-- and some not-so-good. Gotta go back to south of France!

We learned this lesson 3 years ago in Barbizon on a hot summer days. Because of the awful blush wines that got popular here in the eighties, we both avoided rose wines (except champagnes). But, wow what a great surprise and education in the French roses! My husband also enjoyed his wine and I was really thinking he would not go for it!

One of our favorite memories, is that day in Barbizon enjoying our wine! We had 50 minutes in Barbizon on the way back from a tour at Fontainebleu and while everyone ran around this charming town, trying to see it, we decided to enjoy some wine and relax. Perfect choice.

I have fallen in love with these wines and we were treated to a terrific Rose Sancerre at Reed last winter. Really great. Glad to hear we are all learning more and I hope these wines become more readily available in the US, especially in restaurants.

Great topic!

Try a Bandol Chateau du Pibernon rose - delicious. Or any Tavel rose. We almost exclusively drink rose while in Provence/Cote d'Azur - and since about 1990. We had several roses while in the Pyrenees these past 6 weeks.

Stu Dudley

Broadly speaking, I don't particularly care for the Provence rosés myself. I like the local Loire varieties such as Chinon. Tend not to be as sweet, although you can still get some (IMO) fairly nasty ones, e.g. Cabernet d'Anjou I don't like.

denisea--Here in Oregon, we have a wonderful wine region and the rose is readily available. Our stores make big displays of it in the summer, just like what you see in France. We are fortunate

We drank a lot of rosé during our recent trip to Paris and loved it. It was our wine of choice while shopping duty-free.

There are actually extremely few non-dry rosés for people worried about that. The French in general do not care for sweet wines of any colour.

How about Sauternes, Banyuls, Monbillazac (sp), Juracon? I see lots & lots of sweet wine at the grocery stores in France.

The French seem to like Beaujolais - which is not grown/produced or even sold much in the US.

Stu Dudley

Sauternes, etc., are extremely marginal in French sales. Sauternes is supposed to be drunk with foie gras, not exactly a daily menu item (and even then I refuse to drink that disgusting wine), Banyuls is a dessert or apéritif wine -- never with food!

Beaujolais could not be produced in the U.S. because the Beaujolais region is not in the U.S. And actually, the majority of the French do not like it -- too acidic -- even though I like it very much.

We love the roses of Provence and while the Banyuls and Tavels are clearly superior, we have found many of the "boxed" 3 liter and 5 liter offerings quite palatable--and cheap! Sad to say, I have yet to find similar quality and value here in California. One of the great pleasures of Provence is a steady supply of rose to go along with those hazy/lazy afternoons and evenings.
Cin Cin Paul

Ummm..yeah! Dry provençales rosés are a treat. Not sweet at all, the way we think of rosés here in the States. Best thing ever, and our local deli owner has a tremendous variety of them at good prices, so we can drink them here in summer if we're not in France.

If roses from France are not available, we've found Abiouness Rose (a California wine) to be very similar. It is sometimes difficult to find as production is limited.

For years we have enjoyed rose in the summer. We like roses from Provence, Italy, Spain and one of our favorites is a rose of pinot noir from Oregon. I rarely find a rose that is too sweet. I think people remember white zinfindel which is terrible.

>> Beaujolais region is not in the U.S.<<

Sorry - I should have used the grape name - Gamay.

I read many years (perhaps decades) ago that the French drank Beaujolais more than any other wine.

Stu Dudley

Drink Pink! I love the roses - had my first in Paris, a Rose d'Anjou in 2002 - but had trouble getting them in the US - the German stores are loaded with them. I am in paradise with my sampling. But only at home, not driving. What I've found is some powerful nectar. BTW, Surfergirl - how did you get the accent for your post?

Glad to hear Trader Joe's has some decent inexpensive ones. I had to run out this morning, ending up at Wally's Wines in WLA where the cheapest was $15. It's chilling now, for a nice evening with friends on our street in WLA.

If anyone know of decent not expensive French provencalrosés I can find in LA, let me know the names of the brands and where to find them! Time to stock up on this new (for me) find!

Shanna -- I copied and pasted to get the accent!

Surfergirl:

I'm enjoying this entry because we learned to appreciate rosés when we cycled Provence during 90 to 100 degree days two years ago.

I only drink really intense reds; husband is Mr. Beer--we're talking big flavor, very hoppy, IPAs type of drinking guy.

Husband knows he's not getting any French IPA soon, but at one of our first stops, he can't even get his favorite "light" French beer (1664), and so he's feeling sorry for himself. Waiter talks him into a rosé wine, with ice, no less.

Oh, my husband balks: "There is just no way I'm moving to kiddie wine".

The waiter says, "Trust me--this I know."

Husband says, "Look, I like you, but you're gonna be wrong."

Wine comes to the table. BIG glass. Chunks of ice. Pour of rosé. My husband gulps (there are no sips in his world). We waited. "Who KNEW?" he exclaims. "Rosé for everyone."

We drank gallons of it for lunch, for stops, for dinner for the rest of the trip.

OK, so we go to New Zealand. Husband has done his beer research and has found a really good IPA. Except you can't get it most of the places we're going. Husband has his sad "I know what I want and now I can't find it" pout on face. Big burly waiter says, "You gotta drink Marlborough Sauv". Husband says, "White wine is for sissies." Waiter says, "Trust me--I know."

All of a sudden, husband has Provence waiter flashback.

"Bring me a bottle--I bet you're going to be right."

He was.