Planking, good friends, and great wine- what could be better? Our hometown vintners at the Pend d'Oreille Winery planked up a storm at the winery's summer bash and were kind enough to share their photos.

For more info about the delightful, local wines of Sandpoint, visit www.powine.com.

Cheers and plank on!

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Why is it that both optimism and pink wine get such a bad rap? What is so wrong with having a rosy outlook on life and enjoying a glass of something the color of a Mary Kay Cadillac? I am here to say it's ok to see the world through Rosé colored glasses, especially in spring.

Rosé wines are made from red grapes for the most part, although Rosé Champagne and sparkling wines are a blend of white and red wine grapes. The pink color of Rosé is achieved by early harvest and minimal contact with the marc (grape skins, pips, and stalks). After two to three days, the saigneé method of bleeding off the juice is used and violà- rosy-colored wine ready for further fermentation. Rosés typically have a lower alcohol content and higher residual sugars than both red and white wine.

In the 1970’s, white wine was so tragically hip that the demand exceeded the supply of white wine grapes, thus spurring Strutter Home’s on to sell a batch of stuck fermentation saigneé juice as “White Zinfandel.” The American wine industry soured Rosé's reputation by over producing cask upon cask of saccharine-sweet White Zin and other blush wines. This flooding of the market with subpar pink drink did a lot to kill the notion that Rosé can be a tasty, refreshing and refined wine.

The wine I picked up to enjoy with my alder planked salmon was the Charles & Charles Rosé 2008, which is a dry Rosé from the Wahluke Slope (AVA).

Food & Wine Magazine’s 2009 Winemaker of the year Charles Smith (K Vintners, the Magnificent Wine Co., Charles Smith Wines) teamed up with Charles Bieler (Three Thieves, Bieler Pere et Fils, Sombra mezcal) to create this clean, if not under-ripe wine. After a relatively early harvest, this single vineyard 100 percent Syrah went straight to press without so much as a night of cold soaking. Oak? No thanks- just stainless steel for this wild strawberry-type profile Rosé. This wine was just ten bucks at Yokes; light, bright, delicious and a screw cap to boot! Perfect for alfresco dining such as picnics, barbecues, or patio parties.

Other great Rosés for warm weather sipping include:

Domaine de Terrebrune 2007 Bandol, $29

Bonny Doon Vineyard 2007 California Vin Gris de Cigare, $14

Domaine de la Mordorée 2007 Côtes du Rhône La Dame Rousse Rosé, $19

Robert Oatley Rose of Sangiovese 2008, Australia $17

Château de Roquefort 2008 Côtes du Provence Rosé Corail, $16