Rosé wine

1. Making rosé wine

Producing a well-balanced rosé is the culmination of a delicate process, with mastery of the production stages essential to obtaining a wine that is both fruity and aromatic, but without tannin. It's this balance that makes today's rosé wines so successful, wines whose production predates that of red and white wines. Parcel selection is one of the keys to the success of a rosé cru.

When the harvest arrives in the cellar, the grapes are de-stemmed, i.e. removed from their stalks. They are then crushed, i.e. lightly crushed to release the juice.

Two options are then available: maceration (or bleeding) and direct pressing, the latter technique being increasingly used for modern rosés.

For maceration, the must obtained from crushing and de-stemming, i.e. a combination of solid and liquid elements, is placed in vats. The vatting time lasts just a few hours at low temperature. It's mastery of this maceration period that makes it possible to obtain a wine with character, without taking on the tannins that characterize red wines, which come from the same grape varieties. The pigments in the grape skin give the juice its pinkish hue. The juice is then recovered by pressing or by the use of so-called "technical" vats, enabling the liquid part of the must to be extracted in large quantities. Rosé wines produced by maceration have a deep color.

Direct pressing is currently more in line with consumer tastes for lighter-colored, livelier wines. The bunches arriving in the cellar are de-stemmed and then passed directly to the press.

The juice obtained from either direct pressing or short maceration is then transferred to a settling tank for clarification. The particles in the juice fall to the bottom of the tank, and this "sludge" is separated from the juice. The juice then undergoes alcoholic fermentation. This is followed by a relatively short period of ageing, during which the clarified and stabilized wine undergoes a number of operations designed to confirm its qualities.

2. Red wine and white wine do not make rosé wine

The popular belief that rosé wine is a blend of red and white wine is now happily discarded by the vast majority of consumers. However, under pressure from certain industrialists, the European Union adopted a draft regulation authorizing such blends to be called rosé wine, as is the practice in South Africa and Australia. Most of the European winegrowers concerned were vehemently opposed to such a solution, in order to preserve the quality and reputation of a wine whose quality they had been striving to improve for over ten years. It is clear that the "rosés" obtained in this way are nothing more than low-quality products that can be used to sell off poor production thanks to this more festive presentation of the wine. Such regulations are no longer relevant.

It's interesting to note, however, that the major exception to this blending ban concerns Champagne wine. Chardonnay can be blended with Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier to produce rosé Champagne. However, the resulting blend goes through a new fermentation phase specific to Champagne, so that rosé Champagne is not a simple blend of finished products, but a wine with a specific production process.

3. Varieties, regions and famous rosé wines

The grape varieties used for rosé wines are the same as those used for red wine. It has been shown that the rosé color of wine does not come from a particular type of grape, but from its treatment in the winery. In the great rosé region of Provence, however, Tibouren, Carigan, Grenache noir, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre are used in particular.

Three quarters of France's rosé production is concentrated in the Provence region, with flagship appellations such as Bandol and Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. Certain estates, such as Château d'Esclans, Château Pibarnon, Domaine d'Ott and Château Bellet, make this region particularly shine.

Corsica also offers top-quality rosé wines. Less well-known for this color, other major French wine-growing regions offer appellation rosé wines of outstanding quality. These include the Bordeaux region, the Loire Valley with Anjou, and the Rhône Valley with Tavel.

4. Rosé wine and pairings

Rosé is an often festive wine that can be drunk chilled as an aperitif or with hot or cold starters. It also goes well with the main course or grilled meats. However, some more complex rosés can be paired with fish such as red mullet, or more elaborate dishes.