Posts Tagged ‘pink wine’

First thing first: roses are not always sweet. Sweet rose wines are more the exception than the rule. White zinfandel is a pink wine, also called blushed wine, but not a rose. Roses can go from pale pink to light red in color and can have more or less fruit on the palate.

There are two main ways to make a rose:

Roses de saignee are obtained by "bleeding the vats". The winemaker decides to open the vats early in the maceration to let the first juice out. This decision is made to produce a more tannic red and/or a rose de saignee.

Roses made by skin contact. The juice is in contact with the skins for few hours only. The method known as "blending" (mix white wine with red wine) is discouraged and not very common (except in Champagne, but even there winemakers don't use this method very often).

Roses containing white grape varietals are very rare!  Roses are easy to pair with all kind of food, being even more versatile than white wine or red wine. Light food (salad, seafood, chicken, etc.) calls for a light and crisp rose (Cotes de Provence, Anjou, Tavel, Chinon, etc.), while heavier food (steak, cheese, etc.) would pair perfectly with a darker, "fruitier" rose ("Il Mimo" for one, Italian rose made from Nebbiolo grape). More generally, roses pair very well with good company, sun, swimming pool, barbecue, etc.   Have fun and drink chilled roses all summer long!