Friday Sips

The coalition of the willing is somewhat of a mythical thing, but when myths become reality, things can start to become jocular. Over the last 15 years, we have been building our own coalition of dry rosé drinkers, our numbers are multiplying and we are now the not-so-silent majority. Perhaps you believe that it is beneath you to drink rosé, but once you realize that you become all the more beautiful or handsome while sipping a glass of great dry rosé, you will all want to be like us and join our bloc party of the willing and help us stamp out the axis of evil oaked-up, innocuous white wine!

Made by an outstanding producer in Provence's Cassis region, Chateau Barbanau's Cotes-de-Provence Rosé is a blend of the usual Provencal players that we love so much, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. Elegant and pale pink in color with fresh strawberry, herbes de provence, rose petal and chamomile billowing in the mouth yet maintaining a delicacy and insane freshness. The lingering finish of perfectly comprised of ripened fruit that is bone dry and mineral make this a terrific food wine! Drink with seafood stew, mussels cooked in a saffron-spiked garlic broth or in an herbed-up red sauce and of course some good roasted or fried potatoes - do it up!

When we feature Pinot Noir Rosé done in Oregon it has to pass muster and Eyrie's 2013 has done so with flying colors.

This pink treat is a kick-back, hanging-out kind of wine with vivacious notes of bing cherry and red currant on the nose along with underlying dusty, powdery aspects. From the first sip, it really makes your mouth water with sculpted fruit, silky texture, and thirst quenching briskness. With an underlying seriousness here, this can really carry over to the table as your 2nd bottle. Why the second bottle? Because the first will go down so fast that you'll definitely need another.

Eric Chevalier is best known as a Muscadet man, however this vastly underrated Nantes-area star happens to make a couple of terrific Rosé wines. This particular offering is made from the somewhat obscure Grolleau grape that is mainly found in the western reaches of the Loire Valley and is known to produce wines with low alcohol (this one is 11%) and blazing briskness.

Very fine in color, but very arresting and striking with its flavors, this is a Rosé that'll make you tingle! Piercing aromas of prominent flint, red plum-pit and an underlay of herbs impeccably roll into a texture that is bone-dry with an after-burst that reveals itself on the mouth-watering, call you back for more finish. Have this with a plate of steamed clams.

When looking at the map, your eyes will tell you that this wine is from Spain but in order to maintain your pink wine street credibility, you need to refer to it as hailing from Catalonia.

Absolutely wonderful and fragrant, but with plenty of restraint and zip. Sandy soils bring about aromatics, and this 100% Garnacha offers up scents of freshly cut strawberry raspberry, mineral and Mediterranean herbs. The texture and the hook of this hot pink number is zingy, full of flavor and brisk, mouth-watering character. A yummy sleeper from the Emporda region on the Mediterranean Sea right next to the border of France.