Ep 194: The Flavors of Rosé Explained

Rosé is so popular now that the market is flooded. So the question now is not just do you want rosé, but what kind? How do you figure it out? There are some ways to choose the kind of pink for you! This podcast gives you heuristics to get a perfect bottle!

Here are the show notes:

 The four ways to make rosé:

1. LIMITED SKIN MACERATION

• Crush the grapes
• Leave them in contact with the skins like a red wine  
• Soak them for a little while – like 2 hours to 2 days or so (red wines are weeks or months)
• Longer maceration, the darker the wine, the more tannin, the more red wine character

2. DIRECT PRESSING

• Similar to limited skin maceration, direct pressing -- contact with the skins for an extremely short period of time.
• No maceration, press and get skins away, make it like a white wine
• Some color in the juice, lightest rose of all

3. SAIGNÉE METHOD

• The saignée, or “bleeding,” method makes rosé AND red wine
• Started as a way to concentrate reds.
• Early in the maceration process, remove or “bleed” some of the juice from the tank.
• Vinified separately as a rosé

4. BLENDING

• White + red = rosé
• Prohibited for quality wines in Europe except Champagne
• Style varies from light to heavy depending on the amount and type of red wine used in the blend

Grapes/areas and flavors:

French styles:

• Provence – salmon colored, Grenache lead with Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre: fruity, berry, cherry, with orange, saline, hay/dried grass or meadow, stony, floral, berry notes, bone dry, acidic, strawberry, fresh-cut watermelon, and rose petal, finishing with a distinctive, salty minerality on the palate
• Rhone: Tavel: only 100% rose appellation. Lots of structure and character – Grenache and Cinsault, 9 grapes authorized, ages well
• Sancerre, Burgundy, Alsace, Germany Pinot Noir: acidity and soft, subtle aromas of watermelon, raspberries, cherry, strawberries, and stream. Earthy, elegant, Bone dry
• Bandog from Provence: Mourvedre. Full bodied, richer, darker
• Loire: Cab Franc/Cab Sauv/Grolleau/Gamay Rose –  can be dark red, bone dry, floral, herbal

Spain:

• Tempranillo lead: Savory, heavy color – herbal, peppery, watermelon, strawberry, heavier, earthy, floral
• Basque Txakolina Rosado: berries, spritzy, salinity, low alcohol

Italy:  

• Red fruit, flowers/roses, citrus, savory
• AKA – Rosato, Cerasuolo, Ramato

New World:

• Syrah lead: bolder, more like a light red – strawberry, pepper, cherry, peach
• Cab Sauv: deep ruby red color with typical Cab notes: green bell pepper, cherry, black currant and black pepper
• White Zin: 85% of Zin production. Off-dry, sticky sweet.
• Carignan lead – common in CA: red berries, citrus
• Malbec: In Argentina
• Any combo possible, as well as sugar and blending white and red

Remember, it's ok to drink rosé once fall begins! 

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