Summer Activities that Go Great with Rosé

There are so many different qualities of a good rosé that qualify it for the status of summer perfection. Here’s a breakdown of those different qualities and how they match up with some of your favorite summer activities.

Bring on the BBQ

Precisely because of its sweetness, rosé goes well with your summer barbecue.

The sweet flavor notes are a great balance to the spicy and smoky foods that are associated with your grill and your smoker.

So instead of cracking open a beer or worrying which red goes best with which meat, simply pour a glass of rosé to make the meal complete.

Drinking cocktails on the beach

Or at the lake. Or on your deck. Or…anywhere. Rosé’s fruity flavor notes make it a great wine to create the beautiful summer cocktails that are all the rage when the weather gets warm.

Here are three recipes for a great cocktail made using rosé.

Black Rosé – A perfect blend of blackberries, rosé, simple syrup, vodka, and lime juice. Sign me up, please.
Rosé Sangria – A sangria that uses rosé, raspberries, strawberries, and lemons? It’s like summer in a glass.
Lime Rosé Spritzer – A lovely combination of rose, elderflower liqueur, lime, and club soda. Light and refreshing.

Summer birthday parties

We’re all used to toasting everything with champagne. But for our summer of rosé, I’ve got two words for you: sparkling rosé.

Sparkling rosé is a great blend of the sweet and fruity rosé wine and the bubbles that make champagne so distinctive. The combination is a beautiful and light drink.

Using sparkling rosé to toast your friends with summer birthdays is a great way to add a seasonal flair to your party.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for…rosé sorbet

Instead of reaching for that heavy summer treat, consider trying a really light and totally refreshing rose sorbet.

Most of these sorbets are made in just a few simple steps using fruits and a little sugar combined with rose. Here are just a few options:

Raspberry-Rosé Sorbet – Rose, sugar, and raspberries. Boil, strain, and freeze. Three ingredients, three steps, one a-maz-ing dessert.
Rosé Lemon Sorbet – Is there another flavor that embodies the feeling of summer more than a lemon? There’s really not. And combining it with rose? You’ll have to try it to believe it.
Strawberry Rosé Sorbet – Sweet strawberries. Sparkling rose. Some sugar. Some water. That’s it. And it’s delicious.

Going dark for summer nights

When most people think of rosé, they think of a beautiful light color filling an elegant wine glass. But there is a darker side to rosé too, and its spicier flavor is great for ending a summer evening.

Dark rosés don’t have any residual sugar added to them, so they are less sweet, instead tending to be spicier flavor notes. They are more complex, and have more body.

The general sales trend in rosés might be towards the lighter colors and the lighter flavors, but when you’re in a contemplative mood on a summer evening, sitting out on your porch and watching the fireflies and figuring out life, a dark rosé is the best companion.

Picnic partner

Have you gotten the picture that rosé wines pair really well with all different kinds of foods? It does. And the food you’ll put in your picnic basket for that summer meal in the park is no exception.

Whether you’ve packed sandwiches, chips, fruits and veggies, or just a cheese platter, rosé goes with it all.

You’ll want to make sure that you can serve it cool, so chill the wine ahead of time along with freezing a bag of grapes.

When you’re ready to eat, you can pour out the wine in stemless glasses (way easier for a park setting) and put some frozen grapes in each to keep them chilled.