Rosé sales are soaring, and I certainly have something to do with that. On warm summer nights, when the sun doesn’t set until we’re well into dinner, it’s the wine I want. U.S. sales volume for rosé climbed 1433% (you read that right) between 2010 and 2020, according to data from bw166, a market research firm. Some attribute this phenomenal spike to the rise of Instagram. What’s prettier than pink wine? Well, pink wine with a cheese board, if you ask me.
My favorite rosés are lean, gripping and steely, not overtly fruity. They are bracingly tart—lemony even—and dangerously easy to drink. It’s perhaps surprising that I’m so fond of the rosado from the Spanish producer Muga because it’s not shy on alcohol. But it goes down like spa water.
A brisk dry rosé calls for fresh, high-acid cheeses. Mozzarella and burrata, for sure. Oil-marinated soft cheeses: a no-brainer. Young cheeses coated with dried herbs or peppercorns: thumbs up. Here are a half-dozen selections to look for when you’re drinking pink:
Fleur Verte (pictured above) is a camera-ready fresh, rindless French chèvre cloaked in dried tarragon, thyme and pink peppercorns. The herbed exterior is a bit too intense for me, but I love the way it infuses the paste. Dollop this aromatic beauty on a pizza with zucchini or roasted peppers or put some in an oiled ramekin with cherry tomatoes and warm it in a moderate oven until it quivers. I have seen Fleur Verte often at Whole Foods.
Manouri, the Greek sheep cheese, is rindless and creamy and wildly underappreciated. One of the best buys at any cheese counter, it shines with extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of dried oregano and Kalamata olives.
Shepherd’s Hope from Minnesota’s Shepherd’s Way Farms tastes like young feta with a lot less salt. It’s a moist, rindless, days-old sheep cheese, as tender as soft tofu, and unlike anything else I know. Online merchant igourmet sometimes has it.
Meredith Dairy’s Marinated Sheep & Goat Cheese, from Australia, is a jarful of goodness: soft, pudgy, creamy cubes bathing in blended oil (olive oil plus canola, so it won’t congeal in the fridge) with peppercorns, garlic and thyme. Don’t toss that oil: use it in salad dressing or spoon over green beans.
Green Dirt Farm Fresh Sheep Cheese, from Missouri, tastes like the best cream cheese ever. A tangy, lemony spread that’s packed when only a couple of days old, it shines on dark bread with smoked salmon. Or sprinkle with cracked black pepper and thyme blossoms for two-minute crostini.
Foggy Morning from Nicasio Valley Cheese Company in California’s Marin County is a farmstead cow’s milk cheese that resembles fromage blanc,with a sour cream aroma and subtle tang. Pair it with tapenade or sun-dried tomato pesto and a heap of crostini for an easy hors d’oeuvre.