Summer is an ideal time for pink wine. With temperatures on the rise, what could be more refreshing than to cool off with a lightly chilled glass of rosé wine.
Uncomplicated and fruity, pink wines are just the thing for the hot months of summer. If you like dry rosés, there's one for you. If you like them sweeter, there's plenty of those too. There is hardly a wine region in the world that does not have at least one rosé.
Making a rosé is straight forward, mostly in stainless steel at low temperatures and no oak. The idea is fruit retention and freshness. Keep it simple and bottle early.
In Provence, French winemakers employ a reductive style of wine making that allows controlled amounts of oxygen to increase freshness for Grenache and Cinsault, two varieties commonly used in pink wines.
Years ago, winemakers would blend a little white wine with red wine, and before they could say Bacchus, they had a pink wine. Consumer preferences changed to rosés made from a range of red grapes.
Some wineries thought the clamor for rosés was a trend, so they kept their line of wines the same. Others with new vines not yet ready to produce an honest red wine, picked the ripest grapes and made a pink wine.
No matter what direction a winery takes, there are many different red grapes to chose. In theory, a rosé can be made from any black grape. In practice, though, there is just a handful of varieties thought to make the best pink wines.
France
The most popular is Grenache, common throughout the south of France, and especially in the southern Rhone Valley, for Tavel Rosé. The color of many Tavel Rosés is dark enough to pass for a light red. But the wine has such a lip-smacking fruity flavor, that rosé fans are willing to ignore this transgression.
A natural blending partner, especially in the Rhone, Languedoc and Roussillon, is Cinsault. The differences between Grenache and Cinsault are more noticeable in the vineyard than the winery. Interest in Cinsault Rosé is on the rise.
France's other major area for pink wine is the Loire Valley. The best known is Rosé d'Anjou, made from Grolleau. Difficult to grow, Grolleau is slowly being replaced by Gamay and Cabernet Franc. The latter grape is the variety of Cabernet d'Anjou, although there is a rosé made with Cabernet Sauvignon.
![]() |
Grenache |
California
Efforts in California to make a rosé from Cabernet Sauvignon have been sporadic, mainly because the popular grape is too expensive to use for a pink wine.
Other black grapes, like Zinfandel, Syrah, Gamay, Pinot Noir, make flavorful rosés, but it's Grenache's bright and lush strawberry flavors that are the popular choice of wine makers and wine drinkers.
While Rhone Valley Grenache is different then California Grenache, the grape reaches its highest ripeness in warm climates. Grenache is a complex wine that needs bottle age to mature and it can be worrisome for winemakers. When handled properly, though, Grenache Rosé is a wine that demands a second glass.
The importance of rosé wine has come a long way in California, although it still lags far behind red wine, even when the two wine styles are made from the same variety, such as Grenache or Gamay.
Warm growing areas, like most of inland California, produce high-sugar grapes and that means making a dry wine is difficult without having high alcohol. Thus, with a few exceptions, California pink wines are off dry. Zinfandel and Gamay can give the impression of sweetness, even when fermented to near dryness, but it's usually fruit "sweetness," not residual sugar.
A Rose by Any Other Name
Pink wines are in demand everywhere. Here are just a few more rosés you may see in your local wine shop.
Garnacha (Spanish for Grenache) is grown throughout Spain, for making substantial red wine as well as rosés. The designations rosado and clarete, are commonly used in Spain.
In Italy, pink wines are either called rosato, or sometimes, chiaretto. Both Italy and Spain use more specific rosé terminology, advising consumers that rosato/rosado are lighter and chiaretto/clarete are darker in color.
On the other hand, German winemakers can't seem to make up their mind. Pink wines are identified in Germany as Schillerwein, Württemberg, Rotling and Weissherbst.
Perhaps the most successful pink wine ever is Mateus Rosé from Portugal. First made in 1942 at Vila Real, north of the Douro, the off-dry, lightly sparkling Mateus, and Lancers, became a huge hit in the 1970s in the United States and Britain.
Finally, a few words on pink wine and food. Lightly chilled rosés are great summer sipping wines and perfect with light al fresco foods, like salads and cold meats. As a vegetarian, I like how adaptable pink wines are with vegetarian dishes.
Next post: LoNo & Natural
Send a reply to boydvino707@gmail.com