THIS THURSDAY'S TASTING: 8 for $8 @ 8 | Global Rose

YES WE'RE DOING IT AGAIN.

For those of you that missed it the first time, the next feature in our series of Thursday Micro Tastings will be Rose wine from around the world. These wines don't usually get much attention, partly because the American palate has been soiled by years of Beringer and Woodbridge White Zins, but mostly because they don't really stick around long enough to get dusty; people drink them.

Rose is wine you drink when you're with people you like, in gorgeous places, all while probably wearing very little clothing. Consequently, it tends to get upstaged. You don't see rose wines being swirled around oversized glasses by portly, spectacled gentlemen droning on about vintages and terroir. Rose gets spilled in your pool. It gets seawater in it when a tan Australian suddenly dives from the side of your sailboat. Rose may not be the most memorable wine, but it is that wine that your memories would be incomplete without.

So here we bring you a sampling from all over the world. Most of the best come from France, so they are well represented, but we're showing a Mulderbosch from South Africa, a Green Point from Australia, and a lovely Malbec Rose from Susana Balbo in Argentina. Look for a lot of distinction from this lot. You can make rose from just about any red grape (the trick is to whisk it off its skins so as to keep the color light) but each will impart their own character to the wine.

We're hoping for a great turnout for this one, as the summer heat starts to kick in. Gentlemen, I urge you to put your macho pretense aside and come enjoy this one. Nothing affirms your masculine confidence like sipping pink wine with a bunch of beautiful ladies.

So just to recap: 8 wines - $8 - 8pm

THURSDAYS ALL SUMMER LONG

LOOK FOR NEXT WEEK'S TASTING.