Rosé has increased hugely in popularity in recent years, becoming something of a staple summer tipple. In France, it’s actually more popular than white wine over the summer months, and is seen more and more at picnics and barbecues. Despite rosé coming into the fold, most of us don’t even know how it’s actually made.
There are lots of misconceptions about this wine – lots of people believe Zinfandel is a blush wine rather than a rosé, but it’s made in the rosé style, it’s just very sweet.
How is rosé made?
We all know that red grapes become red wine and white grapes become white, so how exactly do the winemakers produce that lovely pink color that gives rosé its name?
It’s all about the contact
All grapes are the same color on the inside – when they’re pressed, the juice runs clear. The color of a wine isn’t from the inside of the grape – the pulp – it’s actually from the skin. If the juice is left in contact with the grape skins, there’s some color transfer and this process is called maceration. With white grapes, the characteristic yellow color is produced and with red grapes, the various shades of red come out.
Roséwine is created by pressing the red grapes and then letting the skins soak in with the juice for only a short while – just two or three days. The winemaker watches the mixture and once the juice has taken on as much of the red color as is desired, the grape skins are taken out and the juice can start to ferment into some amazing rosé.
Provence in France is the area best-known for producing rosés, but California is catching on quick with its Zinfandels.
One way that roséisn’t created is by mixing red and white wines together! Of course, mixing the two would result in a pink wine, but you wouldn’t be very popular among your wine buff chums…