Rosé Uproar

With the warmer weather of the season here, the time has come to start drinking rosé in earnest. Personally, I’m likely to go through my typical two cases over the next couple of months—and that’s just my at-home consumption with friends, family, and on my own.

That’s the way it is with rosé—its fresh fruit, crisp acidity, and supremely easy drinkability make it the perfect wine for the season.

But this year, this summer, this usually unassuming wine is experiencing a bit of the spotlight…and not necessarily in the best way. Much has been made recently about the new proposed European Union regulations that will allow rosé to be made by blending red and white, and the uproar has been loud indeed. It’s even broken out of the traditional wine media and into the pages of major newspapers; the New York Times, for example, ran a column today about it.

It’s not often that the wine world finds itself in such an uproar over production regulations, but this one seems to have struck a nerve. Will this have as big an impact as its protesters fear? How will it all play out?

It’s enough to make me want to drink a glass or two of wine. Rosé, of course.