Delicacy and discretion in a bottle

It used to take a lot of courage to admit that, for the most part, I prefer rosé wine.  People would look at me with the barely concealed contempt of someone witnessing a diner at Le Benardin ordering Manischewitz. But this summer, both The New York Times AND The Financial Times have written in defense of the much-maligned petite rosé.

The FT's Andrew Jefford does a particularly nice job of explaining the allure of the pretty, pale cousin to France's reds and whites. He notes that these are wines to be savored not stored, that they are for drinkers, not collectors. 

There's nothing better than a crisp, cold rosé that refreshes on a hot summer afternoon and goes with all kinds of food. And while I appreciate Jefford's sharing a short list of his favorite domain, I'm surprised that he didn't include a single wine from Tavel, the only Appellation Controllee in all of France specializing in rose. 

Tavel was producing wine all the way back to when the Romans ruled Gaul and by the 17th century the wines of Tavel had an international following.  It gained its AOC classification in 1936, and the village built the cooperative cellar in 1939.  The cellar now includes 36 estates and individual cellars producing five million bottles -- 20% of which are exported -- roughly 45% of the region's production.  

With all the recent press attention, it's probably a good thing that an official Rosé Research Center has been set up to oversee the image of the wine, how it is presented and described.  They've suggested nine descriptors for the flavor, including apricot, mango, raspberry and red currant.  I think they need to add another word to the list -- yummy.