subject: Everything You Need To Know About Rose Wine [print this page] Termed as Rosato in Italy and Rosado in Spain, Rose refers to pink wine. The color of this type of wine usually depends on the technique used for making it, and may range from an orange to a somewhat purple shade. There are three major techniques used to produce pink wine, and these are blending, saigne, and skin contact.
Skin Contact
The skin contact technique is used primarily when rose wine is the main product. This technique works by crushing black-skinned grapes and allowing the skins to remain in contact with the juice for up to three days the most. Unlike with red wine making where the skins are left in contact all throughout the fermentation process, the skins are removed when making rose wine. This is the reason why instead of having an intense red color, rose wine achieves a lighter shade.
Saigne
Saigne comes from the French term bleeding and is used when producing Rose wine as a by-product of red wine and not as the primary product. Winemakers usually remove some of the juice from the must early on the winemaking process to provide more color to red wine.
Blending
As the term suggests, blending is simply mixing white wine to red wine. This is uncommon, though, and is banned in many wine growing countries. In fact, it is forbidden by the law in France to use this method, unless it is for producing Champagne. Blending, however, is not used just to produce the pink color of the wine, but to achieve flavor and characteristics primarily.
How Does Rose Wine Taste?
Rose wines have a lighter and fruitier taste, perhaps as the result of the limited contact with the grape skins. Even if made from the same source, it doesnt have the true complex flavor of both red wine and white wine, and its flavor can actually be considered a more subtle version of the flavor of the two. Rose wines should also be served chilled, unlike red wines.
When to Drink Rose Wine
Perhaps the best time to drink rose wines is a year after their production. Rose wines are also perfect for drinking during summer or spring. And since they tend to have more delicate flavors, they can also be great for picnics, and can be a great partner for chicken, roast beef, and ham. And more often than not, they make a perfect pair for Asian foods.
Where to Get Pink Wine
There are many different places you can get rose wine from. You can get one from your local dealer, but if you wondering where to find rose wine the convenient way, the best place you can go to is the World Wide Web. Today, there are a good number of reliable online wine suppliers that can provide you with high-quality rose wines. Aside from the fact that purchasing pinks online is more convenient, another advantage of doing so is that wines are usually sold at a much better price over the internet.
Rose wine may not have the true heavyweight taste of red wine or white wine, but those who love the pink can truly say that it belongs to a class of its own!
