Pink wine (rose) is just the wine pink color which is the result of a brief contact of the colorless grape juice (must) with dark-skinned berries of red grapes containing the pigment and most of the aromatic compounds.
Pink wine can evoke a whimsical bottle with playful labels, subsequently occupying the place of the candlestick. Someone may well remember the popularity of Mateus Rose (Mateus rose), which to this day remains one of the best selling rosé wines in the world, with a volume of over 2 million boxes sold…
But let the memories and fast forward to the present.
Rose wine was one of the earliest products of winemaking and recently winning its share of popularity. And although their share is still on the shelves does not exceed 5%, among them definitely have samples that are worth paying attention to. Chilled Rose – beautiful companion of the first warm days of spring.
In France, pink wine is called Rose, Rosato in Italy (not to be confused with the Rosso – red wine), Rosado in Spain and in the US, it may have the words “blush” (literally “glow”).
Make it as specific varieties (for example, the local Portuguese, in the case of Mateusz), and quite familiar to Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Mourvedre, Zinfandel (USA), Sangiovese (Italy), Syrah (France), Tempranillo (Spain). Rose wine can be monocortical, but more often it’s a blend (mixture) of several varieties. If the label is not prominently displayed the names of varieties, you just second time – read the varietal composition on the back of the bottle.
For sweets too familiar to us all possible options – from very dry to noticeably sweet, comparable to Muscat Asti (Moscato d’asti). And, of course, where do without the sparkling Rose!
Let’s take a short tour of the famous rosé wines of the world.
France is famous for its rich red blends of Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley and monosortovymi wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy.
However, outside of France few people know about pink wines produced in most of these regions, and also in champagne and Provence. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Provence wines is rosé wines!
The coastal town of Bandol, which gave the eponymous name to the appellation (AOC Bandol), the famous (in narrow circles) for its pink wines based on the Mourvedre varieties. For Provence in General (part of which is Bandol), characteristic pink, based on Grenache, amounting to 60% of the blend in these wines.
The road North from Provence will lead us to Mecca rose France a small appellation Tavel (Tavel) in the southern part of the Rhone Valley (major wine region).
Tavel is located some 10 miles from the famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape, with whom he shares the rhône river. The rules of the Tavel appellation permit only rosé wines.
The vine known here from the 5th century BC And the 14th century ad by the local winemakers put their rose wine to the court of Pope innocent VI. Even the American writer Ernest Hemingway is said to have called rose wine Tavel with your favorite wine. The main varieties for these wines is Grenache, accessory, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre, burbulenk, claret and neck. other.
Continuing North, we find ourselves in the Loire Valley, where pink wines are made on the basis of grades Groll (Grolleau) – black, very acid local varieties, from which are obtained the simple low alcohol rose wine, it’s nice drinking at a young age.
The most famous wine from the Loire is a natural semi-dry and semi-sweet Anjou rose: rose d’anjou (Rosé d’anjou) and Cabernet d’anjou (Cabernet d’anjou) – from a mixture of different varieties, with aromas of strawberry and citrus. The sugar content in them varies from 10 to more than 20 g / L. Cabernet d’anjou is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet franc.
But the wine rose de Loire (Rosé de Loire), bearing the appropriate inscription on the label – this is a dry rose, with sugar content of not more than 3Gl Varietal composition is also mixed: Cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Groll, Pinot Noir and neck. etc.
Leading Italian region for the production of rose wines – Puglia. There he produced a huge number of very different – both in quality and in character. Unfortunately, a large number of mediocre and weak samples tarnished the reputation of this type of wine – sorry for the part of the samples that are worthy of attention and respect, and there are also many.
The area most rich in traditions of production of rose is Salento. Although Rosato is now no longer the favorite wine, as in the old days, a number of the adherents of the old style defies current trends to “relief” wine by soft pressing and cold fermentation – and continue to do full-fledged, sophisticated pink wine.
The label should look, respectively, Salento IGT, or more strictly regulated Salice Salentino DOC.
Varieties used are the same as in the production of traditional local red – Negroamaro with the addition (in the case of Salice Salentino) Malvasia Nero, for imparting softness and more complex aromatics.
These wines can surprise: Mature, dry, with a bright recognizable in nature – they may even seem harsh to those accustomed to modern frivolous pink wines.
Although Portugal as a whole is not considered a great “pink” wine region, history would be incomplete without such legend 1970s as Mateus Rose.
In 1942 the Portuguese winemaker Fernando van Zeller Gedes decided to take a chance and “Americanize” their “green” wines produced in the traditional Vinho Verde region, making them more sweet in favor of the new markets in North America and Northern Europe. The wine was given the name of the neighbouring castle Mateus.
Today, this wine remains the flagship for Sogrape Vinhos, which became the largest wine producer in Portugal.
In America lighteye, sweet pink wine became famous in the 1970s as “blush” (“blush”, literally “rosy”) and has its own circle of admirers among a new generation of consumers.
White Zinfandel (the brainchild of Sutter Home), wine coolers (prepared alcoholic cocktails based on wine), white Merlot and many private brands (private labels) rosé wines accounted for almost a quarter of the wine consumed in America in the mid-1990s.
In recent years, preference of consumers began to shift to the traditional rose wines Old world style. But the wine “blush” still in the lead in terms of sales among pink. Manufacturers like Franzia, Sutter Home, Beringer, Almaden, Canyon Oaks, Gallo, Carlo Rossi and Robert Mondavi poured into the market the millions of gallons all different – from a 5-liter boxes, up a half-liter Tetrapak for fans of lighter, sweeter, less alcoholic and more affordable rosé wines.
As you can see, rosé is not as simple as it may seem. He has a lot of styles. Its color can vary from light salmon pink to piercing thick – depending on the time of contact of the must with the skins of the grapes.
Usually the bouquet is dominated by aromas of strawberry, cherrycherries, raspberries. But the aromatic profile, of course, will vary greatly in the wines of Merlot and, for example, the pink wines of Cahors (Cahors) based on the Malbec grape.
Using materials of the website of the magazine Decanter
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