Who hasn't already heard, during an aperitif with family or friends, that rose isn't wine? Let's break down preconceived ideas, and discover together how rosé is a wine that deserves our full attention.
THE ROSE WINE-MAKING PROCESS
Contrary to what many people think, rosé is not a mixture of red and white wine. Much more subtle than that, it responds to a very precise manufacturing process.
Maceration
The rosé is obtained with red grapes, which can be transformed in different ways. The first is maceration, a method that consists of letting the crushed grapes rest in their juice before filtering the liquid. The liquid thus obtained is called rosé.
Maceration produces fruity rosé wines, whose colour is obtained by soaking the crushed red skins with the colourless juice of the crushed flesh. The longer the maceration, the darker the rosé wine will be.
The bleeding method
The second technique used to obtain a rosé wine is the Saignée method. The "saignée" wine is then obtained from a red wine harvest put into a vat, in which part of the juice is taken a few hours after the start of maceration. The rest will continue to soak to form red wine, while the liquid taken, hawineg already taken on a rosé hue, will be wineified separately.
The bleeding method gives a more powerful and tannic rosé with a richer taste.
DRY ROSE WINE
A dry rosé wine is a fruity and light wine that contains less than 4 grams of sugar per litre. Obtained from a mixture of several grapes, this type of rosé is particularly made by winegrowers from France or Spain. The result is a wine with a not very imposing structure and fruity aromas.
Several grape varieties are suitable for making dry rosé wines. Among them, we can name :
- Grenache : with its aromas of stdryberry and raspberry, enhanced by a hint of white pepper, this grape variety produces rosé wines that are low in tannin and colour;
- Syrah : the dark grape of this grape variety provides a juice with blackberry aromas and spicy black pepper notes ;
- Mourvèdre : giwineg off intense aromas of black fruits and pepper, Mourvèdre gives very colourful and fresh rosés;
- Cinsault : grape variety used in AOC cote de provence, giwineg the rosé a pale colour and fruity aromas.
SWEET ROSE WINE
The fruity and sweet rosé wine is distinguished by its sugar content. This can be higher or lower, often between 4 and 45 grams per litre. Sweet rosé thus offers a less tannic taste than dry rosé, but rich in ripe fruit aromas.
THE PRICE AND AGE OF ROSE WINE
For the majority of rosé wines, you don't have to wait long before you can drink them. However, there are rosés that can be kept for up to 10 years or more. However, these wines are less accessible in terms of price.
THE COLOURS, SHADES AND TONES OF ROSE WINE
Several terms are used to describe the colour and wineification of a rosé wine, but 7 of them are particularly well known. You can describe the colour of a rosé wine through these 7 colours: lychee, peach, salmon, apricot, coral, raspberry and cherry.
CARBOHYDRATES AND CALORIES IN ROSE WINE
Most rosé wines are sweet and fruity, and therefore have a high sugar content. They are therefore generally richer in carbohydrates and calories than red or dry white wines. For example, a glass of sweet rosé contains between 95 and 125 calories, and between 1.5 g and 5.5 g of carbohydrates.
Dry rosé wines, such as Côtes de Provence rosé, which are less rich in sugar, are also less caloric.
THE VIRTUES OF ROSE WINE FOR YOUR HEALTH
A team of researchers has reportedly found a high content of resveratrol in the rosé. An antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, this compound is believed to prevent cardiovascular disease. Moreover, rosé wine has no more undesirable effects than red or white wine.
Rosé is therefore a wine in the same way as red and white, and has its own manufacturing technique. The Château de Berne invites you to taste the best in rosé, with a selection of Côtes-de-Provence to make you forget all the rosé rumors.
