Attention summer lovers: Your time to shine is finally here. Summer has hit the Tetons in full force. Grab your picnic baskets, hop on your paddleboards, and soak it up! And what better to accompany a warm day in the sunshine than a glass (or two) of your favorite rosé. The light, pink-tinted, refreshing wine touts a dry profile with citrus, fruit, and aromatics. We’re raising a glass of the pink stuff and sipping, slurping, and toasting to summer’s tried and true cohort.
What To Buy
The lovely pink hue of a rosé is created when a wine is fermented with grape skins for just a few hours (a typical red wine might be fermented for weeks). As you’re combing the wine aisles for your favorite primo wine, take time to stop and smell the rosé, or at least examine the labels. Syrah, tempranillo, zinfandel: rosés can pack a big flavor punch while still feeling light, crisp, and refreshing to the palate. At The Liquor Store of Jackson Hole, manager Tom Szucs recommends Whispering Angel, the store’s best-selling rosé.
“Whispering Angel has hints of strawberries and a little bit of light pitted fruit. It is a mainstream rosé everyone loves,” he says. “It has a delicate after note; it will hit you dry and acidic as it finishes on your palete a few seconds later.”
Over on the Idaho side of the Tetons, happy hour hotspot Forage Bistro & Lounge has ample rosé options on the summer menu. Owner Lisa Hanley recommends Domaine Salvard from Loire Valley, France; Chateau de Lascaux from Languedoc, France; and Koenig Rosé from Idaho’s Snake River Valley.
“I love the Lascaux because it’s dry and crisp, but Koenig is wonderful because it’s from Idaho,” she says.
Outside the Bota Box
If rosé on its own isn’t quite refreshing enough for the summer heat, Szucs and team at The Liquor Store have the answer: Frosé slushies. That’s right. Frozen rosé. They’ve upped the summer wine ante.
“Rosé by itself does not freeze well, so it needs a little fruit. We’ve added strawberry and peach puree to Bota Box’s dry rosé to make our frosé,” Szucs says.
“Our slushie has the essence of the mainstream rosés everyone loves featuring light fruity flavors.”
The frozen beverage has a loyal following and is a regular in the slushie rotation. Stock up by the jug full and sip to your heart’s content.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of your favorite rosé (Try Whispering Angel from The Liquor Store).
- 2 cups fruit: Strawberries, peaches, or raspberries
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- Ice cube tray
- Recipe adapted from Real Simple.
Instructions
- Pour the rosé into an ice cup tray and freeze overnight.
- In a blender, combine sugar, fruit, and vodka.
- Add in frozen rosé cubes.
- Blend and enjoy!
- Garnish with fresh strawberries.
