FOOD & DRINK
Rosé Rhapsodies
ONBOARD’s wine guru Brad Mitton talks about rosé wine. The sunny aperitif drink, synonymous with conviviality and pleasure
C
hilled rosé wine is fabulous for the summer or indeed in any warmer climate – but just exactly how is it made and what should you be drinking?
What is Rosé wine?
Rosé wines can be made from any red grape and are produced across the globe from numerous grape varieties. There is a wide spectrum of styles of rosé, depending on the various grape varieties and climates. A Rosé is a type of wine that incorporates some of the colour from red grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine.
How is Rosé produced?
It is made by crushing red grapes, so their juice macerates with the skins, allowing colour, flavour, and tannin to leach into the juice. During maceration, phenolics such as the anthocyanins and tannins that contribute to colour as well as many flavour components are leached from the skins, seeds and any stems left in contact with the
How do you choose a good Rosé wine?
The best rosé wines are made from purpose-grown grapes, harvested at the perfect point of ripeness and acidity. The quality of the fruit is key.
They typically have a crisp and refreshing flavour with notes of strawberry, raspberry and sometimes even a hint of citrus
must. In addition to adding colour and flavour, these phenolics also serve as antioxidants, protecting the wine from degradation of oxygen exposure.
How long are the skins kept in the juice?
This period of skin contact can last from just one hour to ten or 12 hours, depending on the grape varieties and the desired colour that the wine maker is looking for. The grape must (the freshly crushed grape juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit) is then pressed and the skins discarded, rather than left in contact throughout fermentation, as they do with red wine making.
The very limited maceration of rosés means that these wines will have less stable colours, less potential flavour components and less oxygen protection, giving them a shorter shelf life and so are meant to be consumed soon after release.
Rosé can be made still, semi-sparkling or sparkling and with a wide range of sweetness levels from highly dry Provençal rosé to sweet White Zinfandels and blushes.
Consumers often prefer lighter- coloured rosés. Many rosé winemakers are mindful of the colour quality of their rosé and make winemaking decisions based on this factor.
As rosé should be consumed soon after its release, it is best to find a Rosé that is young, to be sure it has retained its freshness.
When you find yourself searching for a good rosé, you can’t go wrong with a label from France. Provence, located in the South of France, is particularly famed for its rosé wines with their sun-soaked vineyards producing some of the best rosés in the world in the Côtes de Provence, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, and in Bandol. They typically have a crisp and refreshing flavour with notes of strawberry, raspberry and sometimes even a hint of citrus.
With over 25 years of professional experience in the wine industry, Brad Mitton is the founder and owner of Mitton International Wines
www.mittonwines.com
The longer the maceration, the deeper the colour. Longer maceration also leads to more flavour precursors and phenolics and results in a different style of wine: with more texture, fruit, and a fuller body – yet still lighter than a red.
ONBOARD | SUMMER 2023 | 123
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