Rosé wines are achieving a renaissance as Old World Rosé wines flood the marketplace and many American winemakers are taking note of this spike in popularity and jumping in. A Rosé wine is not a compromise between red and white wines. If done properly it adds a whole new class of wines for us to enjoy. And it’s not just pink wines as it is also called but a rainbow of colors from grey (white) to red. In fact, nowhere else will a wine lover be able to check the type of grape and extraction time better than with Rosé.

The steps of harvesting and making a good Rosé are different than traditional red and white wine processing. Rosé wines are made by removing the skins quickly from red wine grapes, although some blends may also use white wine grapes. The first element of making a good Rosé is in the vineyard. The grapes chosen are usually harvested earlier than the same grapes made into a red wine, which preserves more of the acidity for a lively, refreshing wine. One consideration is which red grapes to use. Grenache, Sangiovese, Mourvēdre, Cinsault, Carginan, Syrah and Tempranillo are used in classic Old World Rosé wines. Domestic Rosé wines also use Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot.

In France, Spain, Portugal and Italy the primary method is by maceration, similar to how conventional red wine is made, but the juice is taken off skins after 3 – 24 hours. A variation on this is Vin Gris, which means grey wine, and uses lighter skin grape like Pinot Noir and are near white in color. It is important to realize that all shades from light red, through salmon-colored, pink and grey still classify as Rosé, even though Rosé is not always a rose.

The saignée (sen-yea) or bleeding method uses free run juice, generally around 10% bled off for Rosé. This method is normally done to intensify and concentrate the red wines, but still make use of the free run juice. This is controversial as some vignerons consider this an after-thought way of making Rosé, but it does permit two wines to be made.

The saignee technique also resulted in the birth of White Zinfandel, which led to yet another controversy about wine esthetics. Sutter Home used the saignee technique to darken, and enrich their red Zinfandel, but the free run juice, which was bottled and sold, did not generate any interest since it was very dry. That is until a stuck fermentation in 1975 led to a sweeter wine and sales took off. So much so that now the market is 85% white and 15% red Zinfandel.

Rosé versus Blush and Other Aliases

While the two terms are conflated a blush wine is usually done off-dry or sweet and by terminology suggests a New World wine. Charles Kreck of Mill Creek Vineyard in Sonoma coined the term blush in 1978. Rosé wines are also called Rosato in Italy and Rosado in Portugal and Spain. Currently many New World wines are following Old World wine making techniques. Rosé wines can be dry, off-dry or sweet. It all depends on one’s palate.

Rosé: Old World

Listed below are some of the popular types and styles of Old World Rosé.

• Provence Rosé is lighter in color, fruity and lean with good acidity
• Loire Valley: Rosé D’Anjou is rich in color and taste and off-dry
• Rhone Valley: Tavel is savory and rich with lighter acidity
• Rhone Valley: Cote du Rhone Rosé wines are well-balanced and may use a GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvēdre) or any of the three.
• Costières de Nîmes (Coat – d ‘air de neem-a), or simply Nîmes is another Provence-like Rosé.
• Languedoc-Roussillon is a region to the west of Rhone and uses many Rhone grapes and Carignan
• Sable de Camargue is a subregion of Languedoc near the Mediterranean making vin gris
• Spanish Rosé: These Rosado wines use Tempranillo, Spain’s most popular red grape to make savory, well-priced wines.

Our final spin is over to Portugal. In the past the country sent us Lancers and Mateus Rosé which gave many the impression that Rose wines were sweet. Now the much drier Vinho Verde Rosados are a good choice. Many also have a prickle (slight effervescence) which adds to the liveliness of these wines. Vinho Verde can also be white or red.

Rosé taste components

Previously I mentioned that color relates to the amount of extraction, or the time the skins stay in the juice. Because grape skins provide a concentrated amount of color and phenolic compounds they also influence the taste of the resulting wine. This is another element the winemaker controls to finish the wine. The elements in bold are the most common flavors to be found based on color intensity.

Lighter color
Mint      Grapefruit          Strawberry         Tart Cherry         Red Currant        Sweet Cherry

Medium color
Strawberry Sauce            Raspberry           Wild Strawberry              Blood Orange    Raspberry Sauce

Darker color
Tomato                                Red Bell Pepper                                Black Currant     Blackberry          Berry Jam

New Mexico Rosé:

New Mexico Rosé wines range from dry to sweet, following the latest trends toward drier styles. Listed below are some of the best Rosé wines in the state.

Black Mesa Dry Rosé & Mesa Rosé                          Casa Rondeña Rosé of Cab Franc
Rio Grande Winery Vino Rosa (dry)                         St Clair Zinfandel & Merlot blush
Acequia Cooper’s Hawk Rosé (off dry)                   Gruet Brut Rosé, 2010 Grand Rosé (dry)
Casa Abril 2016 Tempranillo Rosé (15.8 ABV)       Milagro Rosé of Leon Millot (dry)

I discussed Rosé wines in my May 18 radio show on KIVA (1600 Am & 93.7 FM) Check out my current show live every Saturday from 4pm to 5pm, or online at ABQ.FM by selecting Spirits of NM on right hand dial.