Rosé Rising

I’ve never been a big fan of the blush. I have always thought of it as cloyingly sweet, lingering on my taste buds in much the same way I recall sweet, syrupy sodas of my youth that only served to make me thirstier and my mouth feel stale.

That’s why when my friends who invited us to spend a summer vacation with them in Provence, where they greeted us with chilled glasses of local Rosé, I hardly felt welcomed. Little did I know.

Before you now is a Rosé wine convert, who quickly – and eagerly – learned that in my European home, Rosé can be dry and slightly acidic, yet floral and most wonderfully of all, very refreshing in warmer and hot weather. But, apparently, I am not the only lucky one. This is a worldwide trend. In the United States, this is the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in sales of Rosé wines. The “charming,” pretty wine of the ‘70s is making a comeback.

Today’s Rosé wine is light, yet complex, and the alcohol levels are generally lower, so that one can enjoy it in larger quantities while braving the heat at a stifling outdoor reception. No, Rosé doesn’t have to be the mass-marketed wine choice for beginners and non-wine lovers anymore. It is often the best choice with a decadent summer picnic, a moonlit dinner on the terrace or deck, or a refreshing companion to appetizers at an outdoor party.

Why and how Rosé
Apparently, I am not alone in having believed that Rosé is a haphazard mish-mash of red and white grapes. In fact, these were blended wines in the ‘70s and ‘80s in the United States. However, these days winemakers use red grapes alone to make Rosé. In some cases, they crush the grapes, leaving the juice or “must” to mix with the colorful skins for only a few hours. That skin-contact time varies, depending on the grape variety and its intensity of color and taste. Additionally, many Rosé wines don’t use the full amount of juice in a process known as saignée or “bleeding.” Today’s Rosé springs from any number of popular red grapes: Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Zinfandel, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Cinsault and, most notably, Grenache. In fact, because of the increasing popularity of drier Rosé, all bets are off, and any red grape is fair game for testing its versatility as a Rosé.

Some grapes, such as Grenache and Pinot Noir, produce lighter red wines, even when the juice is left to soak on the skins (macerated) for several hours. That’s why in the United States, these are the grapes of choice for Rosé. Cabernet or Zinfandel yield deeply colored wines, so to restrain the color, winemakers use the saignée process where the juice must be bled off the skins very quickly.

Tis the season
While the weather is cooperating and bringing Rosé season ever closer, perhaps the key to enjoying this pink beauty rests in the pithy words from a Wine Enthusiast staff report, “Chill ‘em and swill ‘em.” This is followed up with “Drink it young. Drink it cold. Drink it with food.”

In other words, don’t look for an aged Rosé, as these are wines meant to be consumed young and at very cold temperatures. They also serve wonderfully well with those light foods we enjoy more in warmer months, such as smoked salmon, seafood paellas, tomato and garlic bruschetta, or grilled chicken Cesar salads.

Sweeter Rosé is generally labeled “blush” or blanc de noir. And this may be the kind of Rosé you enjoy—the best will taste of fresh strawberries and watermelon and might be slightly effervescent. These wines are best no more than a year past vintage.

Vin gris or a gris de gris is going to provide you with a dry Rosé that is paler in color. Usually winemakers use Grenache or Cinsault to produce these wines. Another good bet for finding a drier Rosé is to look at imports from southern Rhône and Languedoc, France. Tavel in southern Rhône and Bandol in Provence are known for their complex, spicy Rosé wines. But France doesn’t have a monopoly on these drier Rosé wines. Northern Spain taps Grenache grapes and Italy is known to use Sangiovese grapes to make interesting Rosé as well.

One of the side benefits of enjoying Rosé is that because there is no barrel aging or elaborate wine-making process, these wines tend to be more affordable, which is terrific news during these tougher economic times.

Ivy F. Kupec