Rosé

Rosé. It's become wildly popular in the last several years. But, do you know that not all Rosé is the same? It can be made dry or sweet or somewhere in between. It can be made still or sparkling. And, it can be made by any of several methods. Today, we'll talk about that.

The primary methods of making Rosé are skin contact, blending, and saignée. And, it can be anywhere from the sparkling Rosé of Champagne to the refresshing Rosé of Provence to the variety of other Rosé of Spain (rosato) or Italy (rosato) to the cheap, sweet, I-don't-know-why-people-drink-it White Zinfandel.

When the primary product to be made from a batch of grapes is Rosé, it is typically produced using the skin contact method. Red (usually black-skinned) grapes get crushed and the skins are left in contact with the must for only part of a day before being discarded. In the case of the palest of Rosé, that might be just an hour or two. With the more vibrant looking Rosé, it's often nearly a full day.

Blending is what some might refer to as the cheating method. It's forbidden in France except in Champagne. And, it's exactly what it sounds like. Red wines and white wines are blended to produce a pink wine that is usually called a Rosé or blush wine.

In the method known as saignée from the French for bleeding, some of the pink juice is removed or bled from the must. This leaves the remaining must more concentrated. The result is a wine with more color to it as well as more tannins. These are the Rosé wines with more character than others. They often age better, although they are normally consumed fairly young. And, their flavors tend to be more intense.

Rosé is a great warm weather drink. Serve it cold and pair it with salads, vegetable, sheelfish, or just a summer breeze.