On a perfect Sunday in early June—when the weather is sunny and warm, but not yet oppressively hot, and the climbing roses are blooming rampantly—my husband and I declare the opening of rosé season with the clinking of our glasses of wine. We've been drinking rosés together since our long ago backpacking honeymoon took us to France, where I spent my childhood in the Loire valley and he spent his best student days in art school in Nice. We were showing one another our favorite places in France, and when we got to the south in that warm September, the rosés of Provence—cool, crisp, and full of the aromas of herb-covered hillsides—were our introduction to a summer habit we revive every year. Rosés are refreshing and low in alcohol (unless you're a fan of California's pink Zinfandels, which are way too sweet), and they go with just about any food, from salads to grills. Rosés have become very popular lately, and they are produced in hundreds of wine regions, from Austria to Australia. We spend the summer tasting, allowing ourselves one inexpensive bottle a week. As artists, we love to look at the colors, which range from the light orange-pink of the Provençal Bandols to the deep purple pinks of some Spanish varieties. And as food lovers, we have fun matching the flavors to our summer meals. Like the roses climbing on every fence and corner of our house, there are too many varieties of rosé to categorize them all, so we just let ourselves enjoy the season.