It’s torture chamber hot where I live, but no one wants to give in and quit enjoying life. Wine drinkers learn to adjust to the seasons and the best wine for this time of year arguably is rosé. To prove this and remove all self-doubt, I opened a chilled Rosato Del Veneto 2008 and enjoyed it with some grilled lobster left from yesterdays feast. The wine was from Perlage, a family-run winery in northern Italy specializing in Prosecco and other light wines. All Perlage wines are made with certified, organically grown grapes.

The delightful strawberry and peach fruit flavors became the antidote for scorching weather. And this was wine was made from only Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Put another way, nothing was blended.

This is a wine for the summer picnic: The nearly perfect alternative when a red wine seems too heavy. What could be better with a hamburger? To every thing there is a purpose under heaven and rosé qualifies as a tonic of sorts when adjusting to hot weather can be frustrating.

For centuries, dry rosé wine has been a staple in the south of France where it is embraced as the best lunchtime, seaside, and all-occasion wine. This is particularly true in the coastal region of Provence, the site of France’s oldest vineyards and the only place in the world that specializes in rosé. Ever since the Greeks brought wine to the region, winemakers in Provence have been perfecting the art of rosé production while earning a reputation as today’s finest rosé region.

Rosé is on a roll. Today the demand for dry rosé is so widespread that across France, it outsells white wine. Elsewhere, rosé is experiencing a global rebirth. Domestically, retail sales of rosé have grown by 28 percent.

I am one of those American wine drinkers who long ago discarded the misperception that dry rosés are the same as blush wines which contain high levels of residual sugar. Rosé is a category of wine, just as white and red are categories. A true rosé is not a blend of white and red wine. Instead, like red wine, rosé is made from red (or black or purple) grapes.

In Provence, the most frequently used method for producing a true rosé is called maceration, a delicate process in which the skins of crushed red grapes are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for several hours before they are removed and the fermentation proceeds. The grape skins impart the light red color to rosé. Their quick removal reduces the tannins, making rosés more like a fine dry white. The final cuvée combines excellent body, bouquet, and color. Provence rosé varieties include Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre, Tibouren, Carignan, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Two very worthy rosés are from the southern Rhone region of France. Tavel and Lirac are made from Grenache and Cinsault grapes and are marketed when they are very young when they taste best. Like their relatives in Provence, when chilled they are delightful on a hot summer day’s picnic.

Rosé is fun, a versatile wine that complements today's American lifestyles. Rosé is a beautiful, festive wine that goes hand-in-hand with good times. It's versatile and complements so many dishes. A well-balanced rosé pairs well our barbeque and other spicy, full-flavored dishes from many parts of the world. They are almost always affordable.

The signature rosé crispness and lightness is very refreshing in hot weather, leading many to call them summer wines. Styles vary widely, but in general, a simpler than a true heavyweight white or red wine – even if made from the same grapes. Rosé wines will remain popular in America because they are delicious, go with an endless number of different dishes and fit any informal occasion, particularly when the patio feels like Dante’s Inferno.