The 2008 Maison Bouachon "La Rouviere" presents a beautifully balanced rosé wine from Tavel, an AOC in the southern Rhone that is known for their exclusive dibs on rosés. This rosé is a tasty, light-bodied Rhone blend (50% Grenache) with the juicy flavors of strawberry and cranberry on the forefront and a dash of citrus on the palate. Maison Bouachon (an offshoot of Robert Skalli) brings consumers a fresh, well-made rosé from southern France.

Rosé wine sales are on the rise as savvy wine lovers have discovered that many of these pink wines fall into the definitively "dry" category. These are not the sugary sweet wines of the last decade, but rather sophisticated summer sisters of many red wine varietals. To offer even more incentive to "drink pink" the vast majority of rose wines offer good value for the money.

Check out the latest vintage reviews for some tip top rosé wines here.

Whether it's rosé, rosado (Spain), rosato (Italy) or "blush" - these terms all refer to pink wine. Rosés are perfect for summer, as they are served chilled and can be a refreshing accompaniment to a variety of warm weather fare. Rosé wines also top the charts for food-friendly versatility, debuting in picnic baskets and sprucing things up at backyard barbecues. You can count on rosés to tackle everything from a chicken salad sandwich to burgers and fries.

Gone are the days when when the wine market was flooded with "White Zin" look alikes, many consumers are helping to break rosés out of the sweet, "wine cooler" mold and are embracing the broad stylistic offerings that are on the rosé market from all over the world. Wine lovers and wine makers are both the better for it!

The Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone "Parallele 45" (buy direct) is a consistent Grenache-Syrah based blend year in and year out. The 2006 vintage has plenty of palate appeal, with cherry and blackberry dominating the fruit profile and an attractive smoke and earth contingent supporting the fruit. You can expect beautiful balance, subtle, silky tannins and a nice smooth finish.
This is a very welcoming medium-bodied red wine that will play well with the likes of pork, poultry, pizza and pasta with hearty meat-based toppings.