The little black dress isn’t only for women. Sorry, ladies, but according to a 2018 Wine Intelligence Study, over half of rosé wine drinkers are male! Excelsior Wine Company discovered a way to cater to both sexes… with a gender-neutral label of a script acronym, “lbd” and to cater to the ladies… its new vintage has been featured as part of LBD Cares Initiative supporting women at nationwide events. How’s that for keeping everyone happy?

My bottle of Mendocino County, California 2017 ldb rosé pours a full-flavored watermelon and berry sweet summer sip. It is the perfect blend of zinfandel and petite syrah in a pink-salmon shade that speaks of summertime.  The price point doesn’t break the bank, either. At $12/bottle, visit www.lbdwines.com to locate your Little Black Dress. If you’re feeling cocktail creative, here’s a recipe for an LBD Spritzer:

• 4 oz. LBD Rosé
• 1/2 oz. lychee liqueur
• 1/2 oz. Pama liqueur (or POM juice)
• 2 dashes of rhubarb bitters
• Dash of Strawberry Rhubarb soda or Club soda

Fill a wine glass with ice. Combine LBD Rosé, lychee liqueur, Pama liqueur, and rhubarb bitters. Top with strawberry rhubarb soda or club soda. Garnish with fresh-cut strawberries and wheels of lime and fresh sprig of rosemary.

Next, I sipped a Vivanco 2016 Tempranillo Garnacha. This is a deeper shade of rosé and hails from Rioja, Spain in a blend of 80% tempranillo and 20% garnacha from Vivanco’s estate vineyards. The bottle was inspired by an original 18th century bottle on display at the Vivanco Museum of the Culture of Wine. Visit www.vivancowineculture.com for more information. The buildup to taste begins with aromas of red licorice, raspberry, and strawberry wrapped in a floral mix of roses and violets. This affordable bottle retails at $14.99.

Last, but not least is a Western Cape, South Africa sparkling Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut produced at Simonsig Wine Estate. I brought this straw-colored bottle to a Fourth of July celebration/cookout and it was a huge hit! I will definitely be ordering more bottles to pair with breakfast (scrambled eggs), lunch (sushi) and dinner (duck) with dessert of almond cake suggested as the perfect pairing. Priced at $25/bottle, I’m impressed.

Three varietal staples of sparkling wine went into this brut: chardonnay, pinot noir and a touch of pinot meunier. If you enjoy sipping light flavors of apples and pears, you’ll love this sparkling imported by Quintessential Wines. Note of interest: In 2004, winemaker Johan Malan created the first ever blend of Pinotage.