PINK wine is not necessarily sweet. With that out of the way, let’s get on with the case for rosé.
How pink is pink?
Pink wines range in color from the palest baby pink or just a hint of blush (think rosy cheeks) to light orange-red and deep, opaque red. The depth of color depends on the grape varieties used to make the wine and the production method.
How is rosé made?
No, rosé is not usually made by mixing red and white wine together, although this is the more common method to produce sparkling rosés (including rosé Champagne).
Rosé can also be a byproduct of red-wine making, when the producer would press the red grapes and bleed off a small quantity of the pink juice, in a process called saigner, literally “to bleed.” The remaining deeply colored juice would then be used for making red wine and the initial quantity of pink juice would be fermented (usually dry) as rosé. Still the most common method of making rosé is through maceration when the skins of dark-colored grapes are steeped in the juice after crushing and before fermentation. This maceration period can last from a couple of hours to a couple of days, allowing the juice to be stained with the color of the red skins and is usually done in lower temperatures to preserve aromas and to extract tannins. The darker the skins and the longer these are soaked in the juice, the deeper the color and the structure of the wine.
How good (or bad) is rosé?
It is its in-between color that has given rosé a bad rap, leading some to believe that pink wine is not “real wine.” Neither white nor red, rosé is sometimes still thought of as sweet and wimpy. True, there are cloyingly sweet and insipid examples, but at the other end of the pink spectrum are wines that are just the opposite. There are different styles of rosé to suit taste preferences, from the subtly sweet, light and delicate, to the robust and bone-dry versions—and can be still or sparkling, as well.
What makes rosé great?
Rosé is a great food partner. Other than that, I think rosés do not really aspire for greatness. Because they straddle the worlds of red and white wine, rosés share the qualities of both. Many examples feel like the weight of white wine on the palate, but the red fruit aromas and flavors give an inkling of their red grape origins. But while rosés are generally light, refreshing and thirst-quenching, there are heavier examples that are richer and drinking like a light red wine with the slight grip of tannin. Price points vary too, and although there is expensive rosé, inexpensive is the general option.
What to pair with rosé?
At the dining table, when the choice is confined to only one wine (a red or white), and where there are those who would drink only red or only white, rosé is the great equalizer that can make peace with everyone. Rosé also works with most anything. The range of styles of rosé also widens the range of its food-pairing possibilities.
For how long can rosé keep?
Rosé is never kept. Drink it now, as soon as possible, and well-chilled, too.
Which rosé to drink and where to find it?
It really depends on the style you like and how much you want to pay for it. Go to the supermarket or to specialty stores like Santïs or Terry’s. Restaurants with good winelists would have a selection of pink wines, too.
Drink pink, especially now, when the warm winds of summer are blowing. At that business lunch when you’re having just the salad. At the beach. At a brunch picnic. On a hot afternoon by the pool with French fries and a burger with ketchup. At a barbecue under a starry sky. A rosé by any other name would still smell as sweet.