Believe it or not, we only import rosés from two small regions in the Rhône Valley and I find something very beautiful in the yin and yang they form together. On the right bank of the Rhône, Tavel is home to some of the darkest, spiciest, and most robust rosés you’ll taste. They blur the line so much that some Tavel growers think of them more as light reds. Then, across the river, half an hour east in the Vaucluse, the Brunier family crafts a rosé so light in hue it’s hard to tell what kind of wine it is at first glance.
     The large wooden demi-muids that house this rosé for several months after harvest “steal its color,” vigneron Daniel Brunier tells me in his understated, but often poetic way. If you expect more muted or softer flavors based on the nearly transparent color, though, you would be hugely mistaken! Au Petit Bonheur bursts with flavors of Provençal herbs, succulent citrus, peach, and red berries and its finish lasts for days. It is a crisp rosé, and very refreshing, but there’s plenty of soul and expressiveness here, too. That means that, while it is an outstanding choice for apéro hour alongside some olives, goat cheese, and popcorn tossed with Provençal herbs, it is also a wonderful bottle to pair, at dinner, with grilled spatchcock chicken, lamb kebabs, and falafel.