What's hot? Rose wine. Here's one to try

                                                                            

            I just tasted a new rose wine that I have to tell you about.

            Now, just in case you’ve been under a rock for the past 10 years, I should point out that rose wines, pink wines are no longer outré. They’re not only cool, but seriously cool. These aren’t the old sickly sweet blush wines. These are crisp, bone-dry, packed-with-flavor wines.

            The new one is by Bonterra, the organic winery, with grapes from northern Mendocino County. It’s 54 percent sangiovese, 24 percent zinfandel and 22 percent Grenache. It’s dry, very lively and spicy, with flavors of tart strawberries and red raspberries.

            Most wine shops should have it, and it’s only $14.

            You can sip it by itself or serve it with picnics, chicken salad, tuna salad, fruit salad, all kinds of sandwiches, even ham. Good stuff.

            (The above is from my wine talk on Linda Gassenheimer's Food News & Views program on Joe Cooper's Topical Currents program on WLRN (FM-91.3) from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. today, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Tune in!)