Drink rosé all day — not just in summer

There’s a lot to be said for switching up your wine choices with the seasons – filling your glass with spicier vino as the leaves start to fall and the temperatures begin to drop, progressing to bigger, bolder, intensely warming reds once the dead of winter hits, and lightening up a bit as balmier days approach. Seasonal drinking allows you to swap between your favourites throughout the year and to open up your palate with wines you might never have tried otherwise.

But it can also make people feel like they have to adhere to ridiculous rules such as this one:

‘You can only drink rosé during the summer.’

Ha! We call BS. And luckily for our rosé fiend friends, we’re here to set the record straight. You can actually drink rosé whenever the hell you please — and in fact, it makes a pretty excellent sip come February, July, and everything in between. Here are just a few reasons why you should be drinking rosé year-round.

It’s a match made in every-type-of-food heaven

Most people think of all rosé as light and summery (many are much bolder and deeper than they get any credit for), so it makes sense that they also assume it pairs with equally light-and-summery dishes such as seafood and salad. And it does — but it might surprise you to learn that rosé also goes beautifully with big foods like BBQ and burgers and comfort foods like slow-cooker meals and stews.

Rosé is crafted using red grapes but made to drink like a white wine, which results in a sort of jack of all trades that straddles the wine spectrum. It can range in body from light to full and display many of the same flavour characteristics as red wine (berries and spices are most common), but its bright acidity and the fact that it’s served chilled give it a uniquely refreshing nature that complements both lighter and heavier fare.

This versatile nature means you can bust out the rosé which whatever you’re whipping up, no matter the season. Shellfish in the summer? Yep. A springtime cheese and charcuterie platter? Oui. Fruit? Indeed. Roasts? Sí. So flex your foodie muscles, and grab that rosé from the fridge.

There’s a rosé for every type of wine lover

Here’s another tick in rosé’s versatility column: it can be made from any red grape a winemaker’s little heart desires. The grape or grapes that make up a rosé determine the ultimate personality of the wine — so a pinot noir rosé, say, is generally light and bouncy in body, bright in acidity, and heavy on the red fruit and earthy characters. A cabernet franc rosé, on the other hand, is heavier in body, lower in acidity, and bigger on the brambly fruit and warming spice notes.

What’s clutch about this all-rounder aspect of rosé, you ask? Well, for one, it makes it pretty much perfect for any time of year, since you can vary your quaffing depending on your mood and the vibe outside. And secondly, it means there’s a rosé to float literally everyone’s boat, even if you think you’re not into pink drinks.

If you’re a merlot fan, try a merlot rosé. More into cabernet sauvignon? There’s a rosé for that. Like the soft fruitiness of grenache or the subtle spice of tempranillo? It’s your lucky day.

You should drink what you want when you want

Because rosé’s become so insanely popular as a summer beverage over the past decade, it’s tempting to think that drinking it when the weather’s cooler is some sort of sacrilege – but as all our mofos know, we’re not really cool with ‘rules’ as they usually apply to wine. If you love a vino, then who’s to say you can’t drink said vino all year round, rules be damned? 

No one, that’s who.