Ah, pink wine.  Yes, it has gotten a bad reputation from the past. You may remember Mateus, Lancers, Cold Duck and White Zinfandel.  Unfortunately rosé wines have been considered second class wines. But, that's all changed!

Rosé is made from red wine grapes, but the grape juice has had very little exposure to the dark grape skins during the wine making process.  So, a white Zinfandel is made from the same grape that produces a bottle of red wine Zinfandel, but the Zinfandel grape's juice was quickly separated from the red (or purple) grape skins, resulting in a pink colored wine.

In the past, rosé wines have been synonymous with sweet wines.  That can still be true.  But there are a lot more dry rosé wines available today.  And, a key to finding the dryer, less sweet, wines is by looking at the wine's alcohol content.  All wines labels are required to show the percent alcohol of the wine. If it's down around 8 or 9 percent, it's going to be sweet.  In the 11 to 12 percent range it will be mid-range between sweet and dry. And, above 12 percent it's going to be a dry rosé.

And, today you'll find rosé wines that are not just blends of red grapes, but produced from specific grape types.  So, you may find rosés made from Pinot Noir, Grenache, Sangiovese, Syrah and even from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. These are wonderful wines to enjoy lightly chilled on a warm day, but should be considered for anytime that a lighter wine is desired.

So, there is no shame in drinking a 'pink' wine. It's not just for girls anymore. And the great part is that rosé wines are a lot more affordable. You don't need to pay more than $15 to find a great bottle of rosé.  Here's to lifting a glass of rosé for Valentine's Day, or any day of the year. Cheers!