With its pretty pink color and fruity aromas, rosé wine is very successful. However, the origin of its color continues to be questioned, and too few people know that it is the result of meticulous work by winegrowers. Let's then discover rosé wines and their pretty pink color .
Color of rosé wine: the result of particular vinification
The beautiful pink color of rosé wines is not the simple result of a blend of red wines and white wines. It is, on the contrary, the fruit of a unique winemaking method.
Rosé wine making techniques
In France, only rosé Champagne is allowed to mix red wine and white wine to obtain its pretty pink color. So, for rosé wines, winegrowers must use specific wine-making techniques, close to those of red wine vinification.
To better understand where this pink color comes from, you should know that it is the pigments contained in the skin film of black grapes, also called anthocyanins, which are transferred into the grape juice during winemaking. To obtain a pink-colored wine , it is therefore necessary to control the contact time between the skin of the grape and the grape juice to perfection.
To do this, winegrowers use 3 different techniques for making rosé wine:
- Maceration rosé , which consists of letting the must and juice macerate, as for red wines, but reducing the contact time to just a few hours (compared to several days for red wines);
- Rosé pressing , which consists of slowly pressing the grapes immediately after the harvest, before putting the juice in vats for fermentation;
- Saignée rosé , which consists of taking part of the juice intended for the production of red wine a few hours after the start of skin maceration, and vinifying it separately, while the rest of the vat continues to macerate to produce wine red.
Depending on the winemaking technique, the intensity of the pink color is more or less marked. Thus, direct pressing rosé wines are generally clearer.
The color nuances of rosés
The color palette of rosé wines is very diverse. The names assigned to the different shades then refer to flowers, fruits, or even animals: coral, rose milk, salmon pink, rosewood, onion peel, rose petal, magnolia, magenta, peach, raspberry ... Enough to create a pretty shades of roses in your cellar and see life in pink!
The origin of the different shades of pink in rosé wines
The color of rosé wines therefore comes from black grapes, and not white grapes. But that doesn't prevent us from having a very large palette of colors, and from having a great variety. This depends on several criteria.
The importance of maceration
You will have understood, unless you vinify rosé wine by direct pressing, it is the duration of maceration which influences the intensity of the pink color of the wines. Logically, the more the winemaker leaves the pigments of the grape skin in contact with the juice, the more it will color and take on an intense color. Conversely, short maceration leaves little time for color transfer, producing pale rosé wines.
The choice of grape variety
You might think that all red grapes have the same characteristics. However, depending on the black grape variety, many criteria change: the aromas, the typicality of the wine, but also the color of the wine ! Winegrowers know that grape varieties such as Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault, and Grenache Noir produce very colorful rosé wines. On the contrary, a grape variety like Clairette Rose produces very pale wines, and Carignan Gris gives what is called a gray wine.
But all this is not so simple, and the winemaker is also free to blend different grape varieties to obtain the perfect rosé wine, with a beautiful balance between sugar and acidity.
Our selection of rosé wines from Provence
A true expert in making rosé wine , we offer you a selection of our best vintages, in order to savor the richness of the Provençal terroir.
- Rosé 2021 IGP Méditerranée - Esprit Méditerranée : round and fresh, this rosé wine from Provence presents a beautiful pale peach pink, and offers aromas of summer fruits and red fruits. Something to make your mouth water when it accompanies an aperitif, a barbecue or a delicious fresh salad;
- Rosé 2021 AOP Côtes de Provence - Château de Berne cuvée PUR : this organic rosé wine from Provence surprises with its pretty bottle, before revealing a magnificent very pale pink color. Accompanied by summer grills and mixed salads, it releases aromas of stone fruits and exotic fruits which are also enjoyed very well as an aperitif;
- Rosé 2022 AOP Côtes de Provence - Origin : this organic wine with a pretty deep pink color presents notes of stone fruits, wild mint and spices. So many flavors that enhance Mediterranean dishes and fusion cuisine.
You now know that the beautiful pink color of rosé wine is the result of meticulous work by the winemaker. All you have to do is enjoy the tasting! To do this, do not hesitate to discover our rosé wines from Provence , directly at the estate, or on our online store.
