Brightest Young Things

With wine and booze you can't lose:

• May 26-June 1 is the "unofficial" DC beer week. There are way too many events to list here, but I strongly suggest you check out the Premium Distributors of DC's list of events. Not to be missed are the H Street Craft Beer Bar tour on May 28 and Cooking with Dogfish Head beer at CulinAirie.
• EatBar in Arlington is having a wine-and-beach-games shindig this Saturday from 1-4, complete with beach-themed movies and tastings of 25 wines. Call them for reservations.
• Room 11 is slated to open in early June. I sure hope so; it'll be like a wonderful early birthday gift to me from the heavens, Paul Ruppert/Nick Pimental, and the DC inspector's office.
• Also from City Paper: Meridian Pint won't be here until probably next year, but it's gonna be huge. Literally.
• Want to taste a lot of what Virginia has to offer wine-wise, but can't afford to go traipsing through a bunch of vineyards? Head to Vintage Virginia in Centreville's Bull Run Regional Park. Tickets are $25 online and $30 at the gate for adult single day tickets; designated drivers and teens 12 and over are $16 online and $22 at the gate for single day tickets; children ages six to 12 are $5 online and $8 at the gate; and VIP single day tickets are $150 online.
• Domasoteca in Arlington is closing May 30 (which is sad), and this means they're getting rid of inventory at deep discounts (which is good!). Head over there this weekend to pick through their last.

The advent of summer is a deeply personal event for many people. Some chart it by the equinox (it ain't summer until June 21), some by the size of hot dogs:

For me, summer is officially here when I can crack open an ice-cold bottle of rosé. It's a big, bad shame that most people are turned off by the color of rosé, shuddering at the thought of "blush" wine and faintly remembering many a White Zinfandel hangover. Rosé is neither of these things (no thanks to you, Beringer).

Rosé wine is its own entity, taking the best aspects from white and red wine. The refreshing versatility of white is combined with the nuances and subtleties of red in a delicious marriage of summer. There are three primary methods of making it, none of which include the use of "food grade bleach":

The first and easiest method of getting some, much like your last date, is through skin contact. Red-skinned grapes are crushed and the skins are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for a short period, typically two or three days. The grapes are then pressed, and the skins are discarded rather than left in contact throughout fermentation (as with red wine making). The skins contain much of the strongly flavored tannin and other compounds, which leaves the taste more similar to a white wine. The longer that the skins are left in contact with the juice, the more intense the color of the final wine.

The second, and most popular method in France, is Saignée or "bleeding". When a winemaker wants to make a red wine with more tannin and deeper color, they can take out some of the juice in the vats leaving the must behind. So imagine: you have a bunch of grapes and want to make sure your wine is in contact with more skins/seeds (the must) than juice (juice). Take away the juice, leave the must, and your wine will be more tannic. The pink juice taken away can be used to make a delicious rosé.

The third and hardest is blending. Sure, it sounds easy: mix red and white wine together. Done. I did this at dinner the other night when I downed two glasses of red and a glass of white (and four of sangria). But not really; blending is extremely difficult to master and consistency between barrels and bottles is incredibly hard.

Now you know how it's made. Now to clear up some things: "blush" is not rosé. Blush is a made-up term and it's crap (literally, it's crap. It's spent yeast and added sugar. Essentially a wine cooler in a bigger bottle). White Zinfandel is one of the greatest and simultaneously worst marketing schemes ever. Rosé is not sweet; in fact, rosés from Provence are some of the driest, most astringent wines you can get. A handy buying guide is thus: the lighter in color the drier it is. If the bottle you're eying is salmon-pink, it's a pretty safe bet that you are going to want to drink it with food due to the dryness. Rosés from Spain are very agreeable and taste almost like watermelon (hence, they are my favorite). Sparkling rosé is one of God's gifts to the world.

Try these and if you hate them I will let you pelt me with complaints in person (I can be found warming a bar stool at SOVA most weekend nights):

Falesco Vitiano Rosé 2007, $9.99

I stock piled the 2006 vintage and the 2007 does not disappoint. Tastes like cherry flavored gummi candy with subtle notes of vanilla on the finish.

Cristalino Brut Rosé Cava, $8

Cristalino is one of those ubiquitous brands that's popular for a reason: for $8 it's good. Damn good. And no hangover! The rosé is no exception. Sure, there are better made sparkling rosés, but if you're just getting into it this is a worthy contender (no use in spending $100 on a sparkling rosé you might hate!)

Domaine Sorin 2008 Terra Amata Cotes de Provence Rosé, $9.99

You want to try something dry? Try this on for size: it's a traditional Provence rosé complete with astringincy and dryness. It has a slight scent of white peach on the nose, but its hallmark is its paper-dry finish.