Rose Wine

Think Pink - try a Rosé

by Chris Hambleton from Champagne Tuesdays

Rosé has had somewhat of a bad press in the past, light, sweet and too fruity, not a serious wine, but in the words of Bob Dylan, the times, they are a-changin'.

Last year saw a rocketing rise in sales of the pink stuff, both still and fizzy and this year promises to continue the trend. Winemakers and retailers have not been slow to recognise this boom, with more and more regions coming out with high quality products.

Some winemaking facts for you
Rosé is NOT made by mixing red and white wine. To make rosé you take red grapes and put them into your wine press, crush them to get the juice out, then you leave the skins in with the juice for 12-24 hours. All the red colour in grapes is in the skin (peel one and you'll see the flesh is green or yellow), the longer the skins stay in the juice, the more colour comes out, leave them in for too long and you end up with red wine!

The other thing that affects the colour is the grape that the wine is made from. Pinot Noir and Gamay have thin skins and do not give much colour, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have thicker skins and give a much darker result.

So, anywhere that you have red grapes, you can make pink wine.

Pink Fizz
This is a slightly different matter and far from being the cheap alternative, it is usually significantly more expensive than it's white counterparts. This is because the process used for sparkling rose is more complex for the winemakers to do, but also has a certain amount to do with marketing. It is an interesting contrast between pink champagne that carries an air of opulence, and a certain strangely shaped bottle of still wine from Portugal that some think has something of the washing-up bowl about it.

Find the shade of pink that is right for you
As with all wines, new world products (from Australia, South Africa etc.) will have more fruit and higher alcohol, they also tend to be darker in colour. Exactly as with red wines, the grape variety will also affect the flavour and colour of the product. So if you like a really full, ripe wine with plenty of alcohol, go for a dark coloured New World bottle. If however you prefer something lighter, try a more delicately coloured French product. As Rose is not as popular as other styles, it is usually a bit cheaper, to encourage buyers.

At the serious end of the market there are three major players, all French at present. The first is Bordeaux, these are made using Cabernet and Merlot grapes and have well-rounded red fruit and a soft finish. Most stores stock at least one Bordeaux rose. Second is Tavel, from the Rhone Valley. Largely based on the Syrah grape, it is more refined that the Bordeaux, with some spiciness to compliment the red fruits. However the king of them all is Sancerre Rose.

Made in small quantities from 100% Pinot noir, this is truly excellent stuff. If you are one of those people who 'only likes dry wines' and have not been back to pink for years, then now is the time to try this. The French know how good it is and sensibly drink most of it themselves, meaning that availability is limited. This is one wine which I have never had a bad bottle of, something I cannot say of any other wine region or style.