As the weather heats up and we finally swing into summer mode – my mind goes right to the pink stuff. In fact, sipping a glass of rose under my favorite tree in the backyard makes me think I am away on vacation. Here’s the scoop on rose. While many people think pink means white Zin, the truth is rose wine is awesome (usually dry with crisp acidity) making it a far cry from the sugary plonk called white Zin. Plus, rose is on the rise in the USA – and that’s a good sign. A few labels I would suggest: try the brightly flavored Monkey Bay from New Zealand or the Los Cardos from Argentina. Both are great with a simple summer salad. Lidia Bastianich (of Falidia restaurant fame in NYC) has an Italy version on the market that is down right yummy. Or grab any pink wine from Provence (the region famous for Grenache-based rose) and give it a try – hard to go wrong, really. During a recent wine school event, I asked a group of guys if they felt “OK drinking rose.” All said yes but once reminded that the wine in their glass would be pink  – they hesitated just a bit. So here’s the question: Do real men drink rose?