Weekly Wine Series - Rosé - Catheryn Grivna

There’s nothing better than sipping on a chilled bottle of rosé during the summer months. Am I right? Surprisingly, I didn’t start drinking rosé until a couple years ago because I thought all rosé was sweet. Boy was I wrong!

Most rosé wines are actually dry wines and are not sweet at all. They are low in alcohol and high in acidity. Most rosés are tart and have red fruit notes like strawberry and cherry. Rosé is a food friendly wine and can pair well with a wide variety of dishes like salads, pastas, seafood, cheeses and even tacos.

If you’ve been wanting to learn a little more about rosé and get some bottle recommendations, keep reading. I spent an entire week sampling different rosés and testing out different food pairings. This post includes all of my findings and will give you a good idea of what to buy the next time you’re at the store. Cheers!

Overview

Facts

Rosé is NOT a grape varietal. It’s a style of wine.
Rosé can be made from almost any red grape. Some of the most common varietals used are Pinot Noir, Grenache and Syrah.
There are a few different ways to make a rosé, but the most common is the maceration method. This is where the skins of the red grapes are left in the juice to “macerate” for a short period of time. The length of time the skins are left in the juice can vary from just a few minutes to several hours. It’s up to the winemaker to decide what they think is best and what style of rosé they want to make. This is also why the colors of rosé vary. If they leave the skins in contact with the juice for 10 minutes, the color is going to be super light. If they leave the skins in contact with the juice for 15 hours, it’s going to be a much darker shade of pink.
France produces more rosé than any other country. Provence is the most notable region in France for rosé production.
Rosé wine is not meant to be aged. It’s best consumed within 2-3 years of it’s release.

Food Pairings

Fish tacos
Summer salads
Spring risotto
Lighter pasta dishes
Seafood
Goat cheese
Brie
Sushi

Bottle Recommendations

Under $20 Wines

Splurge Wines

Producers I Love

Almost all wineries I’ve visited make a rosé of some kind, but certain producers have stood out to me more than others. Here are some of my favorite rosé producers:

Scribe (Sonoma)
Liquid Farm (Santa Barbara)
Sunstone (Santa Barbara)
Rabble (Paso Robles)

Recommended Products

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Weekly Wine Series – Rosé