Summer entertaining calls for Rosé wines

With summer weather, summer foods and summer entertaining — especially summer weddings — just on the horizon, the wines to drink are pink.

They're versatile, festive, chillable and fresh, and there are more dry, food-friendly pink (rosé) wines to choose from than ever before.A recent Nielsen Media Research survey found rosé sales nationwide up roughly 50 percent in the past year. Seattle was second only to Miami among major markets, posting an 87 percent rise in sales. Rosé even has its own booster organization, Rosé Avengers and Producers (RAP) with a Web site (www.rapwine.com) full of news and information for those who wish to view the wine world through rosé-colored glasses.

If you are planning a wedding reception, a special bottle of Champagne Rosé for the wedding couple should certainly be a highlight. Top choices with which to seal the vows include Billecart-Salmon Rosé ($79); Laurent Perrier Brut Rosé ($74); Perrier Jouet Blason Rosé ($70); Louis Roederer Brut Rosé ($64); Charles Heidsieck Brut Rosé ($44); Piper-Heidsieck Rosé Sauvage ($44); Henriot Brut Rosé ($60); Duval-Leroy Rosé ($48) and Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé ($40). A very fine non-Champagne French sparkler is the Lucien Albrecht Crémant Brut Rosé ($24). Prices quoted are approximate.

For the wedding guests, you can ramp down your costs while still keeping the quality pretty high. Look to Champagne-style bubbly from California and the Northwest. First choice is Schramsberg Brut Rosé ($34); followed by Argyle Brut Rosé ($31); Roederer Estate Brut Rosé ($25); Domaine Chandon Rosé ($19) and Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noir ($10). The Gruet Rosé (from New Mexico) is also a good choice ($15), as is the Jacob's Creek Sparkling Rosé (this week's Pick) from Australia.

But don't stop there. Dry, nonsparkling rosé wines, chilled and spectacularly sippable, make beautiful accompaniments to appetizers, dips, spreads, pâtés, cheeses, salads and sliced meats — in other words, just about anything you might put on the buffet table. Remember, we are talking about dry rosés, not the old-fashioned sweet stuff. The rule of thumb is that any pink wine made from a red grape (such as zinfandel) and labeled as white will probably be sweet.

One of the loveliest attractions of a rosé lineup is that no two bottles are quite the same color. If you are planning an event for which you will need a lot of wine, try to round up as many different rosés as possible. The visuals alone are worth the extra trouble.

Washington and Oregon wineries release dozens of bright, fresh, fruity and affordable rosés at this time of year. But many of these wines are made in limited quantities and sell out quickly. Check the wine shops in town to see what is currently available — some good ones to look for are Barnard Griffin ($12), Syncline ($16), Waterbrook ($12) and Columbia Crest "Two Vines" ($8) (note that this wine does have a bit of sweetness).

From Oregon, Abacela makes a vivacious, bone-dry Rosado ($14) — very Spanish — while Elk Cove, one of my favorite producers, offers a delicate, lightly spicy Pinot Noir Rosé ($15). Coelho Winery, a new project in Amity, Ore., makes an excellent pinot noir rosé called Divertimento ($18) that can be ordered online (www.coelhowinery.com). These springtime rosés are often the featured wines in winery tasting rooms, so if you are day-tripping up to Woodinville or wine touring around the Northwest, search them out.

Dry rosés from Australia, Spain, France and California are also plentiful and add variety to any lineup. Try the Bin 505 Shiraz Rosé from Wyndham Estate ($9), the Rioja Rosé from Marqués de Cáceres ($9), the La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux Rosé from Perrin ($9), the Pinot Noir Rosé from Kenwood ($13) or the Grenache Rosé from Beckmen ($18).

Note: If you plan to serve your rosé — bubbly or not — with wedding cake, it should be a sweeter style. The Trevisiol Brut Rosé Prosecco ($15) is especially nice.

New benefit event: The Washington Wines Festival has reinvented itself as a benefit for Camp Korey, slated to become the newest addition to Paul Newman's Hole In The Wall Camps. These camps offer seriously ill children the opportunity to just "be kids" with others facing similar challenges.

On July 11 and 12, the former Carnation Farm will host a wine weekend that will include auctions, concerts by Amy Grant and Vince Gill, dinners with celebrity chefs, tastings of top Washington wines and more. It promises to be a very special event for a very special cause.

For ticket information, visit www.washingtonwinesfestival.com.

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide." His column appears weekly in the Wine section. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.