How Is Rosé Wine Made?
What is Rosé wine? The French term rosé is a pink wine made from red grapes. In Spanish pink wines are rosado or claret, in Italian rosato, chiaretto or cerasuolo. Rosé wines come in an variety of styles. They range from pale colour and light fruity flavors to deeply coloured and with more character from the black grapes. Rosé wines also range in sweetness, from dry to medium-sweet.
There are 3 principal ways to make rosé:
Direct Press Method
Saignée Method
Blending Method
Direct press method is the most popular method to produce rosé wine. The crushed grapes are left in contact with the solids for a short period of time, depending on the desired color level and flavor. Once it’s reached, the juice is drained off and fermented like white white. The purpose of these grapes are solely to make pink wines and not as a by product of another winemaking process. Direct pressing makes some of the lightest-coloured rosés. Wines made by this method are often called ‘vin gris’ and they include many of the lightest- coloured Provence wines.
The Saignée Method is named after the French term “to bleed off.” The wine is made red grape varieties. The purpose of this method is to make both a pink and red wine. The grapes are crushed and the juice has a short period of maceration on the skins, which is where it gets its color from. The period of maceration is short, from hours to 3 days. The longer the maceration, the more color, flavor and tannins will be extracted. When the desired color is reached, part of the wine is “bled” off for fermentation and is done at cool temperatures like white wines. The leftover must (juice and grape solids) is left to macerate further to create a concentrated red wine. Rosé wine from traditional styles of Spanish rosés (not made in ‘Provence’ style) and the rosés of Tavel are made in this type of way.
Blending is a method whereby the winemaker combines juice from both red and white wines. This is however forbidden in Europe (except for Champagne because the flavors come from blending differed base wines).
Rosé wines got a back rap from the overly sweet styles from Anjoy, Portugal or the infamous White Zinfandel in California. Nowadays rosés that are a great food pairing wine, refreshing, and full of red fruit flavor.
Rosé is made from a variety of grapes Garnacha, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Syrah blend to name a few. Future article to follow on the different styles of rosé.
