Building The Home Bar: Rosé
Cris Cantón
Friendly, dependable, cordiale, always available, and intimate; all traits found in a valuable life-long friend, like rosé. This wonderfully pink-hued wine shines bright on every occasion, from celebratory events to a relaxing day on the beach, making it one of the most popular wines on the market today. Rosé comes from centuries of cultural development that dates to the Romans in Ancient Greece who thought wine to be drunk “impurely,” with red and white grapes often being blended as winemaking techniques were still being refined at the time.
Eventually, the Romans started experimenting with white and red grape separation before they entered the crushing phase. However, this resulted in an exceedingly high tannin wine that was difficult to drink. Most people preferred the lighter, less tannic, and harsh wine as it was easier to drink and probably tasted a lot better. For centuries to come afterward, rosé stayed the beverage of choice.
Although the rosé the Romans were making is a far cry from today’s rosé, they did establish a good foundation. The Romans did not have pink grapes and we do not have any today either. That succulent-looking pink color comes from the skin contact that the grapes experience during the crushing process, this is called maceration. A lot of wine goes through this process, but the amount of time varies from product to product. Red wine can spend a week to a month in maceration while a rosé typically sees about 2-3 days of skin contact. The winemaker can decide to macerate with any red grape until the desired color is reached. The skins are then removed and allowed to ferment.
In addition to the common maceration method, there is the “bled” and the “blended” method, each contributing to different styles of rosé. The Saignée (“San-yay”) or “bled” method is a rare one in that it produces a very small yield of grape juice. It starts with winemakers bleeding off their red wine during the first few hours of fermentation and transporting that juice to a different vat for rosé. Wineries, especially those who have the resources at hand, like doing this because it creates a beautiful rosé and intensifies the already fermenting red wine. This technique can be found in places that produce a lot of red wine, like Sonoma County and Napa Valley in California.
The blended method involves adding a small percentage of red grape juice to a vat of white grape juice, dying it slightly pink. The amount of red wine is usually no higher than about 5% in each bottle, it really does not take much to change the color of white wine. This method is very rarely used in still rosé wines but more commonly in sparkling roses in regions like Champagne, France, where the base white is Chardonnay, and the red is usually Pinot Noir.
According to Wine Folly, rosé is known to be crisp and refreshing, offering notes of flowers and red fruit at the start with that signature crunchy green vegetation sensation found in foods like celery and rhubarb.
Any red grape can be used to make rosé, however, there are a few fan favorites amongst winemakers that will offer different colors and flavors. For instance, a rosé made in Provence, one of France’s leading producers of rose, might be made with Grenache resulting in a paler rosé with honeydew, lemon, and celery flavors. In Italy, where the rose is called “Rosato”, the red variety called Aglianico will offer a deep red colored rosé with cherry and orange zest flavors. In Spain where the rosé (“rasado”) is commonly made with Temprenillo grapes, amongst many others, and will offer a pale copper color with vibrant white grapefruit and peach flavor.
As the wine world goes, for every regional space, a different curation of fermented grape juice will arise, and rosé is surely no exception to this. With wine, there is always food and with that pairing regionally is usually a good idea. For instance, Provence, the cultural birthplace of rosé, is justifiably infamous for the salad Niçoise. A salad composed of tangy yet acidic capers, crunchy romaine lettuce, briny black olives, and a fresh Dijon vinaigrette. The only thing that’s missing is a cotton candy sky sunset with a loved one and you’ve got yourself a perfect evening (some soft cheeses and charcuterie would be nice too).
So, what happened to rosé after Ancient Greece and how did it end up in Provence? More importantly, how did it go from being on nobody’s radar to selling out in the Hamptons in 2014? Rosé is quite a lucid entity but has risen to become a cultural phenom for a reason, it’s damn delicious. In sommelier Victoria James’ book Drink Pink : A Celebration of Rose, she explains how native Phocaean colonists (named after an ancient Greek city) planted grape vines in modern-day Marseille (Southern France) around the sixth century BC. Wines produced from these vines were synonymous with the blended wine produced in Greece and the French instantly fell in love; “la vie en rose”. The Romans soon landed in Provence and used their deeply rooted trading networks to make this slightly pink-styled wine popular throughout the Mediterranean.
Fast forward to the year 2000, when rosé started to really become popular in the states. Through a tumultuous few centuries of uncertain western wine drinkers, rosé is welcomed with open arms at beachside resorts and luxury hotels, making a splash in the most fitting of places. Celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt fully embraced the modest pink drink by launching their own line of rosé, even buying an estate in Provence in 2008. According to the rose, wines world tracking main website, a platform dedicated to global rose wine statistics, consumption of rosé has risen a staggering 23% since 2009 and won’t be slowing down any time soon.
L' Esprit Du Lac Vieilles Vignes Dry Rosé 2021
When Yiannis Boutaris left his family wine company, Boutaris Wine group, founded in 1879, he set his eyes on starting his own Greek winery, Kir-Yianni, which he founded in 1997. Boutaris is a true craftsman when it comes to big, bold reds but has recently introduced a stunning rosé at an even more stunning price point. The L’Esprit Du Lav Vielles Vignes Dry Rosé 2021 is made with 100% Xinomavro grapes, like the dark-skinned Nebbiolo grape commonly found in Italy.
The Kir-Yianni winery describes its rosé as having a light body, and fresh acidity with peach and strawberry aromas. Aging 3-4 years in old world barrels while developing about 13.5% ABV in the bottle. This bottle can be found on the Wine Searcher website for $16.
Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne
A name everyone has heard of and a wine that everyone should drink at least once in their life. The Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne is a special bottle that will make any occasion a celebration. The Clicquot House was formed in 1772 and found success with launching the region’s first sparkling Champagne, in Champagne, France in 1810 by the wildly infamous Madame Clicquot herself. Not long after did Madame Clicquot start blending her red grapes with her chardonnay, releasing the first Rosé Champagne in 1818. Today, Veuve Clicquot produces rosé champagne consisting of 44 to 48% Pinot Noir, 13 to 18% Meunier, 25 to 29% Chardonnay, all coming from 50 to 60 different cru producers in France. The wine has a pleasant copper-orange hue to it with expressions of ripe strawberries and biscuity notes of dried fruits. This sparkling sensation can be found at the Total Wine website for $63.
Chateau D’Esclan Rosé
An elevated expression of Provence’s wine-making abilities and is the world’s leading ambassador of rosé. Chateau D’Esclan not only makes the Whispering Angel line but blesses the masses with their Garrus Rosé 2019, a wine produced using Grenache vines that are a century old. Our Cellar notes that this rosé is, “powerful and elegant, an impressive and concentrated rosé with a creamy finish, featuring rich and spicy notes that rival any top white wine or prestige Champagne”. The palate includes notes of zesty lemon, fresh strawberries, and clean salinity finishing with a hint of herbaceous sage. This bottle of memories will pair splendidly with a whole roasted fish over an open beach fire, finished with a squeeze of lemon, and served with fresh white truffles. Garrus Rosé 2019 can be found on the Our Cellar website for $110.
