Rosé continues to be one of the fastest growing categories in wine. Consumers are discovering just how flat-out delicious the wines are, not to mention that they often deliver outstanding value as well. Producers have responded in a big way. Once again this year I tasted a number of wines that were made for the first time in 2009. Italy, with its incredible breadth of grape varieties, is particularly well-suited to offer consumers a wide range of fabulous wines, the best of which I have reviewed below. Readers who don’t go crazy for rosés might want to try serving slightly chilled lighter-bodied reds, such as Chianti Classico, Langhe Nebbiolo or Frappato, all of which make for great warm weather drinking. Readers will probably want to favor unoaked or cask-aged reds over wines aged in smaller barrels, which are likely to be too rich for summertime drinking.