At the time of writing, it’s late August 2023. We’ve not really had a summer and Autumn will quickly be upon us, however that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy Rosé. It doesn’t have to be a seasonal drink.
Why Do Some People Hate Rosé?
During my career, I have found people’s attitude to Rosé to be very negative, and even a bit aggressive about it! There’s a preconception of the pink stuff, and with this in mind, I’m going to bust some myths using quotes I’ve heard over the years.
“Rosé Is a blend of the dregs of white and red wine”
There’s quite a lot to unpack with this.
Technically, you can make a rosé by blending red and white wine together. However, this is not a practice widely done and it’s even illegal in France! So the chances are if you’re drinking rosé then it’s not been made in this way.
The way rosé is typically made is from red grapes. A wine gets it’s colour from the skins, as 99% of grape juice is clear. Soaking/macerating the skins and juice together is what makes a red wine red. Rosé is made in this way, but they don’t soak the skins for as long, just long enough to extract a little bit of colour and flavour.
“I Don’t Like Rosé, it’s just sweet pop”
I hear this a lot and it’s almost as bad as when people say they don’t drink Chardonnay. You can’t tar all Rosé with the same brush. Yes some Rosés are sweeter than others, but you can get some beautiful dry expressions.
Rosé Style Guide
Sweet: White Zinfandel
White Zin is the style of Rosé most commonly likened to “Sweet Pop”. This is because it is usually lower in alcohol and has a good dose of residual sugar in it.
The origin of white zinfandel is actually quite fascinating. Zinfandel is a red/black grape (also known as Primitivo). In 1972, a Californian winemaker called Bob Trinchero suffered a ‘stuck fermentation’. This is where for no reason whatsoever the yeast becomes dormant and stops fermenting, leaving a large dose of sugar in your half fermented wine. He was left with a sweet, pink wine that was lower in alcohol. White Zinfandel was born, and with savvy marketing it has taken over the global rosé market.
Off Dry: Vinho Verde Rosé
I absolutely love this style of Rosé. It’s fun, it’s lively and it’s normally a few degrees drier than Zinfandel. Vinho Verde is a young style of wine, that has been bottled very young. A lot of the time, the winemakers will input a degree of Co2 to give it a slight spritz.
Dry: Provence Rosé & Spanish Rosado
These two styles are both dry but completely different in taste profile.
Provence: For fans of white wines, wanting something a little less citrus heavy
This is what all the ‘influencers’ will be seen sipping, normally on a beach. There’s a trend at the moment, where the lighter the Rosé is, the better it is perceived to be. This isn’t true, but to be fair it is my favourite style. The pale colour comes from brief skin contact with the grape juice. We’re talking a matter of hours, just enough to extract a light pink tint to the wine, which imparts wonderful notes of light red berries.
Rosado: For fans of red wines, wanting something slightly more refreshing
Sometimes Rosados are that dark they can be mistaken for red wines (not really, but you can understand what I’m trying to say). These are wines normally made from Garnacha or Tempranillo, two dark grapes with thick skins and full of deep dark and baked fruit aromas. Normally, there’s a good body to Spanish Rosado and it’s not uncommon to see them at 14% as they’re normally produced in red wine producing areas of Spain.
The Grape Kitchen’s Favourite Rosés
Reh Kendermann Pinot Noir Rosé – £11.75
This German Pinot Noir Rosé is delectably light, refreshing and bursting with flavour. The limestone (kalkstein) helps the grapes reach full ripeness. This brings out lovely mineral qualities, that are complimented by flavours of raspberry and watermelon.
We love this. It’s really expressive, yet light and very very drinkable. Enjoy this with a goats cheese salad, with pomegranates and balsamic glaze. It won’t disappoint.
La Pierre Du Diable Ventoux Rosé – £12.95
La Pierre du Diable is a wonderful blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. This is a fruit forward blend and the wine is meant to be drunk young. The grapes for this Ventoux Rosé were cold fermented and the wine was aged in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. This is done to express the most fruit forward characteristics of the grapes.
Expect citrus, tropical fruits and red fruits, all complimented by lovely acidity, making it such a refreshing rosé wine. Ventoux Rosé is just the thing to try if you like Cotes de Provence but want to try something different.
Thanks For Reading!
Thanks for reading our introductory guide to Rosé. We hope you enjoyed the read and got a bit of inspiration.
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