It's Rosè Season!

As I begin this, it is well into the 90s outside. I know that in several hours I’ll be standing in front of the grill, and we’ll be getting ready to eat…outdoors. We’re having mussels and shrimp as appetizers, followed by that traditional American grill favorite – cheeseburgers. As the sun is going down it will still be hot, and while my burgers will be demanding a nice red wine, my appetite for the red will not be there. I’m pretty certain that on a day like this, I am not alone in my sentiment. But there is an answer – Rosé. You get the red grape fruit notes, and…it is best served chilled.

Before you stop reading, it is important to make one thing clear. White Zinfandel is not a typical Rosé wine, and the reason it is not typical is because White Zinfandel is sweet. The Rosé that I’ll have with my cheeseburgers tonight will be bone dry, and that’s typical for a Rosé

“Fruity” and “sweet” are two different things, and as descriptors of wine, these two terms are not interchangeable. Sweet wines have high levels of residual sugar. Your typical Rosé does not. However, some are clearly fruitier than others. If you are one of those people who prefers wines with muted fruit notes, rather than intensely fruity wines, there are many Rosés waiting for you to try and enjoy them.

There are three ways to produce Rosé wines: skin contact, saignée, and blending. Blending red wine with white wine to produce Rosé is seldom used. The only real exception to this is in Champagne, where still Pinot Noir is added to give the Rosé Champagne its color and red fruit character.

The Rosé wines you are likely to find at your local wine shop are made with the skin contact method. Generally, the juice of red wine grapes remains in contact with its skins for several days to several months. This part of the winemaking process is known as maceration. The juice of many red wine grapes is either clear or very pale and the red color of the wine comes from the maceration. In the production of Rosé wines, the maceration period is limited to less than one day – sometimes for as little as two hours. The length of the maceration affects the hue of the Rosé – with the palest wines having the shortest maceration periods.

While the taste of a Rosé wine will be determined by the varietal(s) used, the color of the wine is determined by a process, so you can use just about ANY red grape to produce a Rosé wine.

“Rosé” as a term, comes from France, and that designation is applied to those produced in the United States as well, but in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, it is called “Rosado,” while in Italy, it is called “Rosato.”  

A very substantial portion of the Rosés sold here come from the Southern Rhone Valley of France, notably Provence, whose reputation as a wine producing region is largely built on its fine Rosés. These wines are mostly produced from Grenache, with Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre playing a supporting role. Tavel is the only French appellation where Rosé is the only permitted style of wine. Here again, Grenache is the main varietal but no more than 60% of the blend and 15% must be Cinsault, with the other Rhone red varietals completing the blend. All of these range from quite soft to quite fruity.

Sancerre, in the Loire Valley of France, produces Rosés of Pinot Noir, and that has become the preferred varietal of many US producers of Rosé. Rosé of Pinot Noir tends to be quite fruity. Still, for domestic Rosés, it’s best to check the label to determine the varietals inside the bottle.

Summer is Rosé’s time, so be sure to give this hot weather red-alternative a try. It will not be hard to find one you like.