There has never been a better selection of good rose wines on the shelves of American wine stores.

For years, stores offered just a few good roses, and mostly from France -- from Tavel, perhaps, or Provence. There were other blush wines, of course, from Mateus to White Zinfandel, but many of them tended to be simple and sweet. In just the past three or four years, however, there has been a pink revolution.

We've been saying for a couple of years now that the most consistently fresh and lively roses on shelves these days are coming from Spain. And we wrote last year that American roses have begun to turn a corner, with far more drinkable, dry and vibrant examples than ever. Now the floodgates have really opened. It's amazing how many Italian roses are appearing these days, along with more and more pinks from Greece, Hungary, South Africa and just about everywhere else.

With the weather turning warm -- and now that many of the brand-new, fresh-as-a-flower 2004s have arrived -- we wondered if it would be a good time to pick one up tonight. We conducted a large tasting to find out.

To us, good rose wine should have mouth-watering acids and a kind of mouth-popping liveliness. It should have the thirst-quenching qualities of a fun white but a little bit of the weight of a red. While some roses are great to sip on their own, they should also pair well with summer foods -- seafood, in some cases, and barbecue in others. We always hope our roses will be fun but not frivolous, and it's always a pleasant surprise when they have some complexity, with perhaps an underpinning of earth or minerals.

In a tasting of American roses last year, we found more to like than ever before. When we discussed this with winemakers, they said that Americans are beginning to realize that the sweet pink wines of their youth are not representative of fine rose and are beginning to take blush wines more seriously. As a result, vintners are producing more of them and making them dryer -- which is convincing more people to turn to them. What a wonderful cycle. A year ago, our best of tasting was Toad Hollow Cellars "Eye of the Toad" Dry Pinot Noir Rose. At the time, we enjoyed both the 2002 and 2003. We tried the 2004 recently, and it's just as good.

Because we sampled American roses last year, we figured we'd try non-U.S. roses this year to get a better idea of the overall state of rose. The selection we found was surprising. We had planned to buy about 50, but we saw so many, from so many countries, that we picked up more than 60 before we knew it.

Rose is made by leaving the clear juice in contact with the dark grape skins for a short time, so it is made from all sorts of dark-skinned grapes. Grenache (or Garnacha, in Spain) is one of the classics, but we found all kinds, from Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon to Kekfrankos (from Hungary), Gaglioppo (from Italy) and Malbec (from Argentina). We bought wines from 2004 whenever possible, but none older than 2003. Good rose won't suddenly fall off a cliff in two years, of course, but we generally prefer it young and fresh. We recently tasted a 2002 rose from Corbieres, France, called Domaine de Fontsainte, and it was still excellent -- clean, nicely focused, with great acidity and bursting with light strawberry tastes. We didn't see a more recent vintage for our tasting, but we'd buy it in a minute if we saw one. We did not include White Zinfandel in this tasting; we consider it a different category.

We tasted the wines in blind flights over several nights -- and, we are happy to report, they were a joy. Some were very light and some were heavier; some were bone dry and some had a hint of sweetness; and some were barely blush while others were almost red. But there were winners of all kinds. A few were from the classic areas, such as Chateau de Pourcieux from Provence, which was made from Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. But the roses from outside France were more consistent. We had an excellent rose from Turkey Flat Vineyards in Australia made from Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Dolcetto. And of a small number of South African roses in the sample, we very much enjoyed two of them, including our best value, Goats do Roam, which is made from several grapes, including Shiraz, Pinotage, Grenache and Cinsault. We tasted the Goats do Roam in two flights and both times actually refilled our tasting glass because the wine was gone before we knew it. It was that charming and easy. (Goats do Roam is one of the better-known and more widely available wines from South Africa. The importer, Vineyard Brands of Birmingham, Ala., says about 2,500 cases of the 2004 rose were distributed nationwide.)

Once again, Spanish roses showed well. One was our best of tasting. "Just a blush of color," we wrote. "Nice minerals and fruit on the nose. Juicy, tart and mouth-watering, with some spiky citrus flavors. Crisp and lively. Deceptive in its approachability and almost ephemeral tastes because there's real stuff in there. This is a great summer-picnic wine." This rose transported both of us to our Southern roots, and we began to think about how beautifully it would pair with fried catfish and fried oysters. This turned out to be Muga from Rioja, which is made from Garnacha, Tempranillo and Viura, which is a white grape. We paid $11.99 for it, but we saw it for as little as $9.99 and as much as $12.99. About 1,500 cases were imported and distributed nationwide.

If you haven't tried a rose in a while, don't wait any longer. And don't just think of these as simply wines to sip alone, either, because good rose can be terrific with all sorts of food. Buy 2004 if you can, and to increase your chances of success, you might want to narrow your choice to a rose from Spain or South Africa. Think how much fun it will be to tell your friends that The Wall Street Journal told you to become a pinko.

The Dow Jones World-Wide Rose Index

In a tasting of rose wines from all over the world -- except the U.S., which was the focus of our tasting last year -- these were our favorites. Roses are the in thing at the moment so you'll likely find quite a few. Pick up a young one and chill well.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Bodegas Muga (Rioja) 2004 Spain
PRICE: $11.99
RATING: Very Good/ Delicious
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Best of tasting. Elegant. Easy but not frivolous, almost ephemeral yet juicy, exceptionally clean and lively.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Goats do Roam Wine Co. (Western Cape) 2004 South Africa
PRICE: $9.99(1)
RATING: Very Good
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Best value. Lovely, but give it time to grow on you. It's fuller than some and bursting with cranberry-like fruit that leaves a long, happy finish. Super with a rare burger from the grill.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Bergerie de l'Hortus (Domaine de l'Hortus) 'Rose de Saignee' (Coteaux du Languedoc) 2004 France
PRICE: $10.99
RATING: Very Good/ Delicious
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Hard to imagine, but this is a steak rose, with well-balanced fruit and so much stuffing that it could stand up to meat.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Chateau de Roquefort 'Corail' (Cotes de Provence) 2004 France
PRICE: $14.99(1)
RATING: Very Good/ Delicious
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Light salmon color and a crisp, clean, bracing nose. Bright acidity, good fruit and even some fetching minerality. Good with food, especially fried oysters.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Chateau de Pourcieux (Cotes de Provence) 2003 France
PRICE: $10.99
RATING: Very Good
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Pomegranates and raspberries, with a nice fullness about it and an attractive tangy tartness.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose (Stellenbosch) 2004 South Africa
PRICE: $11.99
RATING: Very Good
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Orange blossoms and strawberries. Charming, with bright acids and some tartness. Lovely fruit. Excellent with salmon.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Turkey Flat Vineyards (Barossa Valley) 2004 Australia
PRICE: $15.99
RATING: Very Good
TASTERS' COMMENTS: Full-bodied and very fruity, with tastes of watermelon and strawberries. Not austere, but nicely dry, especially on the lovely finish.

NOTE: Wines are rated on a scale that ranges: Yech, OK, Good, Very Good, Delicious, and Delicious! These are the prices we paid at wine stores in New York. (1)We paid $8.99 for the Goats do Roam and $10.99 for the Chateau de Roquefort, but these prices appear to be more representative. Prices vary widely.