Sunny days and balmy nights can mean only one thing— rosé time.
No doubt rosé has become seasonal wine in many parts of the country. According to NeilsonIQ data, rosé sales in the USA increased by almost $100 million between the spring and summer quarters of last year.
While sales have grown briskly over the years, America’s relationship with pink wine evolved partly by accident. Back in 1975, Sutter Home winemaker Bob Trinchero, set about making zinfandel wine—a signature California red. Part-way through fermentation, Trinchero noticed that fermentation —the natural process of yeast converting grape sugar into alcohol—had stalled leaving behind a pink, fruity, slightly sweet wine.
What to do? The wine was pink because the juice from crushing only spent a short time in contact with the zinfandel (red) skins. Red grape, pink wine? Hmmm, let’s call it “white zinfandel!” A marketing star was born.
What Bob Trinchero made nearly 50 years ago was technically a rosé: a wine made with red grapes whose skins have limited contact with juice during fermentation. Just to be clear, all white zinfandels are rosés, but not all rosés are zinfandels. In fact, rosé can be made from pretty much any red grape; many are blends.
Europeans have always understood that rosés come in a spectrum of styles, while many American wine drinkers grew up thinking that all rosés were pink fruit bombs. Not any more. Today we can walk in a wine shop and see dozens of rosés (including sparkling versions) from all over the world; rosés range from the palest pink to strawberry red, from fruit punch rich to dead dry.
If you are still on your rosé training wheels, you are in for some delightful surprises. Go to some rosé tastings. Experiment with different styles. You might start in France, the world’s largest producer of rosé. From there, the world of rosé is wide—and enticing.
Around the world in eight rosés
Yellow Tail Rosé (NV)—Australian dry, fresh fruit, nice finish, value, $7
Domaine Caylus Rosé, 2020—French, organic, single serve (187ml), $7
Boschendal Rosé, 2018—South African gem, over-delivers (Costco), $8
Corvo Rosé, 2020—Sicilian, dry cherry and citrus flavors, $11
Beronia Rosé, 2021—Spanish blend of tempranillo and grenache, $15
Josh Cellars Prosecco Rosé (NV)—Northeastern Italy, dry and refreshing, $15
Chateau Bonnet Rosé, 2020—French blend, aromatic, long finish—$18
The Prisoner, Unshackled Rosé, 2019—Crisp California blend, $22
Summertime spritzers
If rosés are a sign of summer, wine spritzers surely are another.
A perennial favorite, spritzers seem to check all the boxes: light, refreshing, relatively low alcohol and calories.
The number of premixed wine coolers/spritzers on the market seems endless today, but I favor the DIY approach: choose your own wine (usually white) mixer, proportions, and garnish. No need to follow any rules.
Select a wine you enjoy drinking, pour over ice into a tall glass, add sparkling water or seltzer, and garnish. A ratio of 60/40 (wine to sparkling water) is a good place to start but tweak it any way you like. Fresh berries, frozen into ice cubes, make a festive garnish. For a bit of color, and to make your own ersatz rosés, try adding a splash of red wine to your spritzer.
Sunny days and balmy nights have created just the right atmospheric conditions: rose is in the forecast.
Trinchero had intended to make a batch of red zinfandel—but for some reason fermentation stalled part way through the process. The resulting juice was slightly sweet, fruity—and pink; all because the juice hadn’t had time to take-up the flavors and dark red color of the skins. Sutter Home cleverly decided to call the wine “white zinfandel” and it soon became a hit with the jug wine crowd.
Roses can be made from almost any red grape (quite often they are a blend)
Steve Prati, Franklin-based wine consultant, www.steveswinecellar.com
Leave a Reply