Think Pink
I never thought I’d write an article on rosé, and I definitely never thought that article would include how much I like it.
Reason number one: everyone already knows what rosé is, right? And everyone already has an opinion on it. And reason number two: I didn’t like rosé before last summer… or at least I thought I didn’t.
But last summer, for no apparent reason at all - I’m still not sure why - I deemed it my “summer of rosé”. I was sure there was better rosés out there, good rosés, and I just hadn’t had them yet.
And so I tried a bunch of different pink tinged wines, and hells bells, I was right!
Really, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Previously, I’d really only had those sinful White Zins that remind you of jolly rangers and sugared strawberries.
Thus the research into the various types began - what makes them different, why I liked certain ones over others, etc.
I still didn’t want to write a whole blog about it though.
But then I watched André Hueston Mack’s recent video on it (below), and I was hooked by the idea that rosés had been marketed to Americans in a certain way, and that marketing was behind why I had been so insistent against rosé for years, and might be pulling the pink wool over other peoples’ eyes as well!
So, let’s take a look at what rosé is, how it took off in America, and how to find a rosé that you might actually enjoy!
How Rosé Is Made
This is the section I’m pretty sure most folks who like wine, even just a little bit, will know.
Rosé is made with red grape varietals. The juice of the grapes is allowed to macerate (fancy word for saying “rest with”) the seeds and skins of the grapes for juuuust a little while. We’re talking anywhere from 2-20 hours. This is different from red wine, which can macerate for weeks. The longer the juice stays with the grape skins, the more concentrated the color. After maceration, all the pomace (fancy speak for: seeds/skins/stems) are removed and afterward that entire batch of juice is made into rosé.
The above method for producing rosé is pretty common knowledge, I would say.
BUT.
Did you know there are two other methods?!
There is also the Saignée method. Pronounced “san-yay”, this can also be called the “bleeding” method because, while in the early process of producing a red wine, some of the juice is bled off into a different vat after just a few hours of macerating with the pomace. And this bled juice is used to make the rosé.
This method is used a little less than the maceration method, and is most commonly found in areas like Napa and Sonoma.
The last method is the blending method. I bet you can guess how this one is made. YOU GOT IT. You blend red wine with white wine! It does not take a lot of red wine to dye white wine, so rosés made in this manner will only be about 5% red wine.
And while the Saignée method is less common that the maceration method, the blending method is even less common than either. Really, it’s not used for still rosés at all and only sparingly used in the Champagne region for their bubbly rosés.
Pink Marketing: The Blame Game
Rosé has never seemed so… comprehensive before, has it? That’s because Americans really only think of it in one way: Sutter Home White Zinfandel. The “sweet, blended-beyond-belief, embarrassing cousin” of rosé we’ve all had during a house party in college. (Quote from Alex Beggs’ Vanity Fair article… I couldn’t have written it better myself).
If that sounds a little blame-y to you, that’s because it is.
In the 1970s, white wine in America was becoming increasingly popular. Light, refreshing wine was so popular in California in fact, that winemakers couldn’t keep up with demand, so they started using the Saignée method and created the first American rosés.
One of these folks was winemaker Bob Trinchero, who attempted to bleed his Zinfandel from Amador County, CA. However, the story goes that the zin-based bleed got stuck, and wouldn’t finish fermenting, meaning it was to forever be a sweet rosé. It was about as un-dry as you can get, and not particularly light or refreshing like they were trying to go for.
That is the origin story of the Sutter Home White Zinfandel. They were one of the first to attempt making rosés, and unfortunately were the ones at the time who had the biggest distribution reach.
I say “unfortunately” because it means that particular ultra-sweet rosé was the only idea Americans associated with the pink drink for a long time.
And there are other reasons to blame it as well. Even as other American wineries started making higher quality, more diverse rosé wines, Sutter Home still had the market because a bottle of their White Zin sells for $5.99.
That price is pretty attractive if you’re young and your palate is attuned to the sweet cola-based cocktails of a college party school.
For these two reasons, rosés in America were untouchable for a long time. They were seen as amateur drinks and no sommelier would go near them.
There are a few things people credit for the turnaround. Some say it was that Wölffer Estate’s rosé becoming the “it” thing to drink in the Hamptons; everyone wants to pretend to be rich and famous, so if Gatsby-like socialites are drinking rosé, it must be good, right? Or it could be that Miraval winery, owned by Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, won one of the best wines in the country for their rosé. Star power goes a long way in the U.S. Or, it could just be that in the early 2000s U.S. hotel and resorts started importing French rosés. This meant every-day Americans had more variety to try and found out not every rosé tastes like a jolly rancher.
What we do know, is Instagram’s effect on rosé.
With the rise of selling a beautiful lifestyle via tiny square pictures, rosé quickly rose in demand due to wine brands like Yes Way Rosé and Club W (now known as Winc) pushing a luxurious, pink lifestyle with hashtags like #roséallday and #summerwater.
Pictures of pink swimsuits, and flowers, and sunshine, and beautiful people sipping pink at a pool party has now firmly impressed upon IGers that rosé is the perfect summer drink.
Now here I could spiral about the dangers and woes of The Grid. But I will save you all that misery and take an optimistic position instead: whatever the reason rosé is having its day in the sun, I am all for it. The more rosé is marketed, the more different varieties will be made and the more people can find a rosé they love.
Your Own Rosé Summer
First of all, we need to ditch the idea that rosé is only for summer. As we learned above, that’s all marketing, folks!
There are big, savory rosés that would be delectable at Thanksgiving, or perfect for a cozy January night in next to a roaring fire.
Julia Child is actually quoted as having said, “Rosé can be served with anything.” And you don’t argue with Julia.
But how to find that lovely pink drink that will work well for you and your taste buds?
First tip would be to think on what varietals of red wines you prefer and from where. If you know those two things, you can (most likely) find rosés from those same grapes and areas. They are going to taste different - it is a rosé and not a red after all - but they will share some of the same basic characteristics.
For example, I love Italian red wines, particularly from northern Italy. They are big and bold, with high tannins and high acidity, showing aromas of earth, leather, and dark fruits (…my mouth is watering).
And I can find rosés from that region too! Sangiovese rosé is pretty common, in fact. It has the “rosé-y” aromas like strawberries, green melon, and roses, but has some interesting white pepper zip and stewed apple deepness; it ends on a bitter note which calls to mind the drying tannic ends of those big, bold reds.
That doesn’t sound like the white zin your mom used to drink in the ‘80s, does it?
Now, I’m not going to break down each varietal and the differences in each, mainly because Wine Folly has done that and their descriptions are just so spot on. So instead, I’m going to send you there!
Madeline Puckette
And if you don’t know what region or varietal you like, that’s okay, Wine Folly breaks down what overarching style each rosé will fall into, with categories like: fruity, floral, savory, rich, and sweet.
But do you know the best way to find which rosé you like best? Try them! Pay attention to the area and grape next time you want to just throw a rosé in your cart. Keep track of which you like and which you don’t and - most importantly - why. Over time, with this information in your noggin, you’ll become a rosé wine connoisseur.
Weekly Adventure
Well, I kind of already gave you a weekly adventure in the paragraph above… and you know exactly what I’m going to say here, so I’ll say it in all caps: GO FIND YOURSELF A ROSÉ YOU’LL ACTUALLY ENJOY! There are so many out there, just like any other red or white wine, you just need to find your varietal and your region.
Have yourself a roséy summer. And fall. And winter.
Cheers,
Molly
References
https://winefolly.com/tips/guide-styles-of-rosé-wine/
https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/what-is-rosé-wine/
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2015/08/when-did-rosé-wine-become-a-thing
https://crushwinexp.com/a-brief-history-of-rosé/
https://www.josephjewell.com/wine/a-very-brief-history-of-rosé/
https://www.instagram.com/yeswayrosé/?hl=en