Plonk: Rosé
Rosé is sometimes looked upon as the soft drink of wine because of its sweet, light flavour and pink, soda pop, colouring. This image is somewhat unfair for while at the lower end of the price range you can come across many uninteresting and over-sweet rosés there are a multitude of good pink wines available.
Rosé is made in a manner very similar to red wine. The grapes are crushed and the skins and stems left to ferment with the grape juice (known as the must). The fermenting mixture is warmed to allow the colour and tannin from the skins and stems to blend with the must. However with rosé wine the skins and stems are removed long before fermentation is finished and the wine is left pink.
Pink champagne is made in two different ways. Firstly white champagne is blended with a little still red resulting in mediocre wine that is easily outclassed by champagne, which is exposed to grape skins early in its life. If you want to experience the good stuff then look out for Moët et Chandon or Krug.
Good rosé wine combines the refreshing characteristics of white wine with the body and personality of red. It is best served chilled and is an ideal summer drink. It tends to taste of strawberries and have a floral undertone. As with white wine, rosé comes in flavours ranging from sweet to dry - a fact that can belie its pinkish colour.
Rosé is also known as Rosado, particularly when referring to Spanish wine, from whence the word comes. The best grape, although certainly not the only one, from which to make rosé wine is Grenache. Some of the best comes from Navarra in Spain. You can find rosé produced all over the world and, although Europe is its home, Australia makes some of the most reliable rosé wine in the world - notably Penfolds Grange and Tyrrell.
In Europe, Spain and Italy produce many fine rosés and generally outdo France for reliability and quality. Unless you know exactly what you want don't risk buying rosé from the Loire valley particularly. Look for Albino Rocca from Italy and Principe de Viana from Spain.
In the States, California does the best with rosé and although there is the ever-popular Blossom Hill to contend with you can find some excellent, if slightly over priced, wine originating in the Sonoma Valley. Look for Ravenswood and Clos du Bois.
South Africa produces a few rosés worth mentioning most notably from the Paarl region. Keep your eyes open for Warwick and Buitenverwachting.
Bottle of the Week: Vignelaure Rosé Cabernet/Grenache Provence France 1999, Ł12.99 approx. This is a dry crisp wine with a strong concentration of fruit hinting at strawberries and apricots. Excellent if served chilled out in the sun.
Clever thing to say: The Vignelaure Rosé is produced by David O'Brien, the famous racehorse trainer, who acquired the estate near Rians in 1994.
March Rogers
Email March Rogers with questions or queries about wine.
