One of the most misunderstood wines in America is Rose. For many, it is “White Zinfandel.” For others it is the first wine they drank to excess when they were well under age. Do you remember sneaking into your parent’s liquor stash and killing a bottle of Mateus? Not particularly positive associations?
True Rose is in fact red wine, minus the structure, tannin and complexity in red wine. The skins (where the colour of red wine is derived) and the tannic elements of the grape (skins, pips and stems) are only kept with the juice a fraction of the time that would normally go into making a full fledged red wine. Just hours, not days and days.
Typically the grapes are cold soak fermented so that flavours of the varietals can be absorbed before the alcohol conversion process takes place. In this way the wine will retain a delightful freshness and delicacy. Rose is being vinified for it’s freshness and not its complexity. It is a wine that is best consumed young.
It only takes a visit to the Western Mediterranean rim during the warm weather months to see how popular this wine is. It makes no matter where you are… Capri, the French Riviera, the Catalan Coast… look at any outdoor café, look on any table… what do you see? A bottle of Rose! And it makes no difference whether you are King or Commoner… the wine of summertime Europe is Rose.
Why? It’s served chilled. It’s wonderfully refreshing. It goes with everything that is on the menu. You can’t lose.
If you think that Rose is just Mateus and Lancers you are making a huge mistake. It’s like thinking that all beer is Budweiser and Coors Light. Virtually all of the major wine producing areas of the world produce Rose to some level, and some areas specialize in it. In the Southern Rhone Tavel is known for their Rose. Made in blends that include Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre and Syrah it is considered the most structured of the Roses. The best of them, like the wines of Domaine Tempier, will actually improve with short term cellaring.
The Roses of Provence are simply a joy to drink. Made in a blends that offer pure expressions of the red varietals that we see throughout France’s South. The most important grape is Grenache. Beautiful florals with red fruit charm, reasonably priced, make the wines from here the most consumed summer wine in France.
If you stop at a café along the Champs Elysee, the wine you sip will most probably be a Rose D’Anjou from the Loire Valley (Provence being too far removed to suit Parisians). The grapes used here, Gamay, and Groslot, lend a distinctive zesty fruitiness to their wines.
The success of Rose can not be contained within one country’s borders. Along Italy’s Adriatic Coast you will find Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo made from the Region’s renown Montepulciano grape.
In Spain it might be a Rose of Tempranillo, in Argentina’s Mendoza it might be a Rose of Malbec, and in Australia’s Barossa it might be a Rose of Shiraz. In Napa it might be a Rose of Cabernet or, even more exciting, we can find practitioners of the blending arts like Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard. His blended Vin Gris de Cigare Rose, stands alongside of Robert Sinsky’s Pinot Noir based Rose as one of California’s best entries into the class.
Getting the picture? Name the Country, name the Region… find a Rose.
And while it’s easy to paint a picture of blue skies, puffy white clouds, soft breezes, an azure sea in the background… and a glass of Rose in the foreground… there is more to Rose than summer sunshine.
The wine can be truly enjoyed on a year ‘round basis. For the traditional “red wine lover”, it becomes their “white wine.” For the traditional “white wine lover”, it becomes their “red wine.” Always excellent with spicy cuisine, a natural with ham and grilled poultry and a wine that can add to any festive Holiday table.