Wine 101: Embracing the Pink

[kevinfelixlee]

Rose is often associated with bad wedding receptions and avoided by men for its color. But don’t let those stigmas color your opinion of this wine—rose can be a delightful staple during the summer, especially when served alongside the grill. There are, however, many variations. Here’s the lowdown on what the French call “pink”:

Several varietals, several regions: Rose comes from all over, in all sorts of varietals. In France, they make it from Grenache, Syrah or lesser-known varietals like Mourvedre and Carignan. In the French Loire valley, the best roses are made from a mix of Cabernet Franc and other grapes. Champagne often makes single-varietal rose wines from Pinot Noir grapes. As for the name, in Italy, it’s called rosata and in Spain, it’s called rosado, and in California, it’s sometimes called “pink wine”— and all regions use different kinds of fruit.

Quick time: There are several methods to make rose but the most regarded technique is through “abbreviated red wine vinification,” which is a fancy phrase to describe the following: Black-skinned grapes are crushed and the skins remain in contact for up to three days before the pale-colored juice is run off to continue fermenting. The short amount of contact with the skins is similar to a short steep in making tea. Usually the grapes used aren’t fully ripened, so there isn’t too much sugar in the wine. This keeps the drink light and refreshing.

The California way: A less-reputable method among Europeans, but popular among Californians, is called saignee, which means “bleeding” in French. This is a way to intensify red wine, with rose being more of a by-product than the intended result of the process. The technique requires lightly crushing the grapes—as opposed to pressing the fruit. Then the skin-and-juice mixture sits for 12-24 hours. A small portion of the juice—pale in color—is run off and fermented without the skins, while the the remainder of the juice will remain with the skins and eventually be turned into red wine. The knock on this technique is that sometimes it uses fully ripened grapes that are full of sugar. After fermentation, the high sugar content renders the wine with high levels of alcohol—sometimes too much for a delicate wine like rose to handle. Not all roses made in this manner are that way, but chances are that the cloying, heavy or too-sweet rose that you drank at your nephew’s nuptials last year was made using this technique.

Blending white and red: The third and least-regarded rose-making technique is the simple blending of red and white wines to get the desired color. In Europe, wine authorities forbid this technique, except in Champagne, and even there the top makers of sparkling rose won’t blend the wines. The EU contemplated allowing blending but the French lobbied hard to prevent it from passing. France’s agricultural minister said it was a victory “to defend our culinary way of life.”

Think summer food: Roses are so varied it’s difficult to generalize what food matches best. That said, it’s a quintessential summer drink, so anything you’d eat at a summer picnic—grilled seafood, salads, and olives just to name a few—would likely go well with a glass of pink. Just remember, keep rose chilled. It’s supposed to be refreshing, after all.

runescape gold
rs gold
runescape money
runescape items