In the pink with International Rosé
Summer is the traditional time of year to enjoy rosé wines, perhaps because they have a reputation for being less serious than their red or white counterparts and so fit into the "silly season" mentality which prevails when half the world seems to be on holiday.
While not wishing to perpetuate this concept - after all, if wine is good, it's good - Quaffers® is prepared to put still and sparkling rosé wines from around the globe under the summer spotlight. That way you will be able to reconsider your approach to rosé in time to enjoy it throughout the year.
Exploding the myth
Ask the average wine lay person about the origins of rosé and tall tales start to emerge from the woodwork. It's white wine with red wine added to give it the colour. It's white wine with a pink colour additive stirred into the tank. It's red wine diluted until the colour has nearly all gone. It's something to do with roses.
In fact only one of these is even vaguely true, and then only in Champagne, of which more later. To understand rosé is to understand the nuances of the vinification process, and what different elements of the grape can contribute to the characteristics of the finished wines.
How do they do it?
In rosé wine production it is contact with the skins of black grapes which result in the wines' final colour. How the skin contact occurs is the key, and there are three main methods:
- Black grapes are pressed directly and then fermented (as with white wines), producing vin gris (literally "grey wine"). These wines have a pallid pink hue.
- Black grapes undergo the same process as in red wine production (crushing to break the skins, fermentation begins, then pressing), but the maceration period is shortened to 1-3 days before running off the juice. After this, fermentation continues without the skins.
- The saignée method involves removing the grape stalks but not crushing the fruit. After 12-24 hours in a fermentation vat the juice is run off before fermentation without skins. Minimal skin contact results in very pale colour.
Whatever method is used, rosé wines fall between the defining characteristics of white and red wines. They are designed to be drunk very young, lacking the acidity of a white wine or the necessary tannins of a red wine which would help the ageing process. In the European Union, the only place where rosé wines can be made from red and white still wines is Champagne, with blending taking place before secondary fermentation.
Rosé wines are normally fermented in stainless steel tanks rather than casks, and then bottled young. This suggests that producers' capital investment is not committed to these wines, and that they are the Cinderella of the wine world. Yet in some areas they carry their own appellations, and there are internationally-recognised examples which more than wave the banner for these often under-rated wines.
What's in a name?
Wherever there are black grapes grown, there is likely to be rosé in one form or another. Whether the wines carry the name rosé (French), rosado (Spanish and Portuguese), rosato (Italy) or blush (Californian marketing speak), they are all about thinking pink. Less obviously but nonetheless imaginatively, Switzerland has Oeil de Perdrix (partridge eye, so-called because the colour ressembles the bird). Americans have clouded the issue by introducing the concept of White Zinfandel - a rosé by any other name would smell (and taste) as sweet.
Depending on the origins of your rosé, the wine will have typical characteristics.
Here is what to expect from some of the vast range of world-wide possibilities. The grapes listed are not definitive – remember, if it’s a black grape, it will make rosé of one sort or another.
 Champagne: |
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Inevitably, sparkling rosé, often higher priced than its white equivalent. |
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Some well-known marques include Laurent Perrier, Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque, Billecart-Salmon. |
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| Provence: |
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Côtes de Provence - Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan grapes. Bone dry. |
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Bandol – Mourvèdre grapes. |
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The Provençal bottle is often shaped like an elongated tailor’s dummy. |
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| Loire: |
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Sancerre – Pinot Noir grapes. |
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Cabernet d’Anjou – Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Semi-sweet. Ages well. |
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Rosé d’Anjou – Cabernet Franc grapes. Pale colour, slightly sweet. |
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Rosé de Loire – Cabernet Franc grapes. Covers dry rosé from the whole Loire Valley. |
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| Rhône Valley: |
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Tavel – Grenache and Cinsault grapes. France’s most famous rosé. Strong, dry and more than just an easy summer quaff. |
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Lirac – next-door to Tavel in both location and style. |
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| Switzerland: |
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Oeil de Perdrix – Pinot Noir grapes. From Neuchâtel, also Valais and Vaud. Pale orangey-pink colour. |
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| Portugal: |
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Bairrada – home of the infamous Mateus Rosé , the height of mid-20th century suburban dinner party sophistication… in its distinctive rounded bottle, squat from the front but slim on the side. |
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| California: |
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White Zinfandel – very pale pink due to minimal skin contact. |
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Whichever rosé you choose to quaff, expect a refreshing mouthful with its own character and style. It’s more than a summer halfway house between red and white wines, and deserves renewed attention at any time of the year.
Taste the wines with us in our wine reviews here
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