As we get into the swing of spring, with rising temperatures and growing things beginning to vibrate with life, my mind turns to the pleasures of pink wine. For decades, rosés have been dismissed as cloyingly sweet and/or inconsequential. This was probably never the case; but especially as of the twenty-first century's second decade, this could not be further from the truth. The world of wine contains myriad examples of balanced, nuanced examples of pink wine made from a wide variety of grapes. For example, Elk Cove makes a pinot noir rosé from Oregon's WillametteValley, Robert Sinskey makes one from his famous Carneros pinot noir. Each of these producers has adopted a distinctive style that leads to wide variation in their respective finished wines. While Sinskey opts for fuller flesh, yielding notes of peach and apricot with a floral perfume that lends itself most readily to stand-alone applications, Elk Cove's effort is more reserved, with notes of tart berries and bright, food-friendly acidity. These wines are sufficiently different from one another that none but the most cunning palates could identify them as being made from the same grape variety. It is partly this panoply of styles, as well as varieties, that makes an exploration of rosé so utterly intriguing.
Rosé derives its color from at least two techniques: it may be tinted with surprisingly minimal amounts of still red wine--this is the cheaper, simpler approach; more frequently, the juice remains in direct contact with the grape skins until the desired color is achieved, after which the juice is bled off of the skins. This latter method is referred to as saignée (sen-yay), and allows the winemaker to determine very precisely the coloration of the finished wine. Almost any grape can be utilized to make rosé, but some of the more common are of course pinot noir, also grenache, syrah, cinsault, even cabernet (franc or sauvignon), merlot, or even the tannic and rustic tannat grape. These varieties determine many fundamental characteristics of the rosés to which they may contribute, either as single varietal wines or blends. And yet, as I noted above in the case of the two pinot noir rosés, more than variety, style determines all.
Some of the more exotic and interesting varietal rosés come from Italy's Campania region, and are made from Aglianico grapes, which are more frequently used to make rich, robust reds. I have been regularly drinking a very balanced, dry rosé of Aglianico from Campania producer Terredora. In contrast to my prior experience with Aglianico rosé, the 2009 Terredora release is surprisingly pale to the eye, and crisp and lively on the palate. This wine has more in common with Elk Cove's rosé of pinot noir than with its varietal peers from Campania. In the case of rosé, one could argue that style and craft winemaking take an even more central role in determining aroma and flavor characteristics. So when shopping for rosé, you may want to avail yourself of the tasting experience of your local wine shop staff. They can help you find a pink wine that both fits your palate, and pairs optimally with your menu.
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Rosé derives its color from at least two techniques: it may be tinted with surprisingly minimal amounts of still red wine--this is the cheaper, simpler approach; more frequently, the juice remains in direct contact with the grape skins until the desired color is achieved, after which the juice is bled off of the skins. This latter method is referred to as saignée (sen-yay), and allows the winemaker to determine very precisely the coloration of the finished wine. Almost any grape can be utilized to make rosé, but some of the more common are of course pinot noir, also grenache, syrah, cinsault, even cabernet (franc or sauvignon), merlot, or even the tannic and rustic tannat grape. These varieties determine many fundamental characteristics of the rosés to which they may contribute, either as single varietal wines or blends. And yet, as I noted above in the case of the two pinot noir rosés, more than variety, style determines all.
Some of the more exotic and interesting varietal rosés come from Italy's Campania region, and are made from Aglianico grapes, which are more frequently used to make rich, robust reds. I have been regularly drinking a very balanced, dry rosé of Aglianico from Campania producer Terredora. In contrast to my prior experience with Aglianico rosé, the 2009 Terredora release is surprisingly pale to the eye, and crisp and lively on the palate. This wine has more in common with Elk Cove's rosé of pinot noir than with its varietal peers from Campania. In the case of rosé, one could argue that style and craft winemaking take an even more central role in determining aroma and flavor characteristics. So when shopping for rosé, you may want to avail yourself of the tasting experience of your local wine shop staff. They can help you find a pink wine that both fits your palate, and pairs optimally with your menu.
Rosé certainly IS made from two main methods. Saignée (pronounced 'sonyay' not san) is second preference by serious rosé producers -who might use it proportionately in conjunction with the primary method- and is usually made when some winemaker wants to bleed off the first run juice from whole cluster fermentation, or juice off destemmed fruit mostly to decrease liquid to solid ratio and therefore gain more extraction of fruit for the red wine being concocted. This however is not the primary way of controlling the color of the rose since the best saignée is often induced within a few hours after crush, rather the color is determined by the grape pigmentation and how long it stays in contact with the skins. Typically the best rosé is made from either a short amount of time with skin contact of destemmed grapes before pressing, OR whole cluster pressed red grapes where the overall intent is to make a rosé in finality vs. a "lesser" rosé from bled off fruit. This is where you will find the winemakers' ability to maintain a modicum of control over color saturation, tho skin contact pressed grapes tend to have lower acidity, more phenolics and potentially higher volatile acidity. As far as blending red into white, aside from Champagne, it's against regulations in the EU and is looked down upon internationally, tho some schmucky mass producer of Xmillion cases of shit rosé may be doing it to keep $3.99 blush on a shelf for that part of the population with sterile taste buds. Show me a reputable producer blending red into white for a rosé and I'll show you and honest criminal. Cheers Dr! You stole my name. It's okay tho, I've had it longer.... ;)~
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