Rose’ wines, hundreds of shades

It is early afternoon and I am visiting a new restaurant:

Me: “This is our Pinot Grigio blush”

Restaurateur:”It is delicious, better than our current one, but ours has a darker colour and our patrons will find yours too light in colour and complain”

In the UK, there's a saying: "never judge a book by its cover." Yet, we often judge rosé wines by their colour. And it is not just restaurateurs. I see it every time I include a rose wine’ in one of our wine tastings, the first comments are always about the colour. This doesn't happen for white or red wines despite their colour’s differences. We don’t seem to notice the different shades in red and white wines, but we do in roses.

We expect rosé wines to be one of two colours: either a light pale orange, like most Pinot Grigio blushes, or the brighter pink of Zinfandel. Any other shade, and we question the wine. Rose’ wines are very little known, largely because supermarkets only stock a few types, preventing rose’ from reaching the popularity needed and deserve to become mainstream. Another reason is that in the UK we tend to drink rose’, but also white wines, too cold, tasting akin to cold water. And the very low temperature makes most good rose’ taste odd.

Rosé wines despite being underappreciated, are among the most versatile wines available. By adjusting the serving temperature, either slightly warmer or cooler, towards a red or white wine respectively, can pair a wide variety of foods. Italian rosé wines, in particular, are made to complement food. Their color, ranging from very pale copper to light ruby, is the result of the winemaking process and the grapes used, with variations due to longer or shorter fermentations.

No winemaker, except industrial producers, decides the shades of a rosé wine in advance. The resulting colour is the consequence of the winemaking process and can vary between vintages. Rosé wines are made using red grapes that are harvested early, before reaching full ripeness, to have higher acidity and lower sugar content.

Like red and white, rosé wines come in many shades. So, next time you choose a rosé wine, don't judge it by its colour. Instead, evaluate it based on its aroma and taste, just as you would with a red or white wine.