Rosé has exploded on the US market over the past few years, especially during the warm months of the year. Suffice it to say, rosé has become incredibly popular, but most of us don’t know much about Rosé.

How is Rosé made?
The answer here is skin contact. When all grapes, no matter their color, are juiced, the juice that runs out of the fruit is clear. Wines receive their color not from the juice but from the juice’s contact with the skin of the grapes. As the skins and the juice soak together the color from the skin bleeds into the juice, giving the wine its yellow or red color. This process is known as maceration.

Winemakers create a rosé wine by juicing red grapes and then allowing the juice to soak with the skins for a very short period, usually only two to three days. As soon as the juice begins to take on the beautiful pink color the winemaker desires, the skins are removed and the juice is allowed to ferment, creating delicious rosé.

What taste can you expect?
Rosé has the body of a red wine, but the lightness and fruitiness of white wine. The primary flavors of rosé wine are red fruit, flowers, citrus, and melon, with a pleasant crunchy green flavor on the finish similar to celery or rhubarb. Of course, depending on the type of grape the rosé wine is made with will greatly vary the flavor. Rosé wine is quite simple in the glass — it’s pink, it’s chilled, it tastes good. And this time of year, there’s no occasion that wouldn’t be improved by a good rosé, from graduation dinner to a July 4 backyard cookout to a hillside picnic.

Some recommendations from the portfolio

Bodegas Ontanon Clarete Rosado  2016
The Clarete displays a clean, bright and almost transparent coral color. In nose, it expresses a pure, red-fruit component laced with light floral aromas. It is light, crisp and fresh in the mouth, with striking acidity and lifted floral aromas, balanced by delicate red fruit.

Domaine Dupeuble Beaujolais Rosé 2016
This 100% Gamay “rosé de presse” undergoes a 12-24 fermentation at controlled temperatures. The raspberry with salmon hints of color. Fresh and fruity nose of redcurrants and white flowers. Fresh and round in the mouth. Enjoy this within 1-2 years of the vintage served at 8-12°C as an apéritif or sipped on the patio with friends at a summer barbecue.

Grand Jardin Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Rosé 2016
Very delicate and silky palate, dry but coated by an oily texture and a very subtle sweet notes that perfectly balances the good acidity.  The nose has floral hits of fresh red berries, fresh pear, and delicately vegetal, like acacia leaves.

Jean Luc Colombo Rosé Cape Bleue 2016
67% Syrah, 33% Mourvedre.  Nose has subtle hints of peach, rose petal, watermelon, and tropical fruit.  Dry, round and full of finesse on the palate, with notes of fresh berries.

Domaine Sainte-Anthelme VDP Gard Rosé 2016
From a slightly salmon pink, bright and shiny, this wine has a mineral nose dotted with fresh red fruits and flowers. Strawberries, and light red fruits abound.
Chateau Thivin Rosé Beaujolais 2016Delicate fresh fruit aromas and light, tart flavors make this a harmonious and delicate wine for summer drinking. It’s great right through an al fresco meal, from olives to mixed salads and grilled meat, rounding off your repast with fresh red fruit.

Les Pallieres Gigondas Au Petit Bonheur Rosé 2016
A bright, refreshing and lightly colored rose from the Gigondas AoC in the southern Rhone Valley of France. This is a unique blend of 1/3 Grenache, 1/3 Cinsault and 1/3 Clairette which is a white blending grape that is native to the region.  Les Pallieres’ attention to detail and organic farming let the acidity and minerality of Bonheur shine through.

Chloe Rosé 2016
Chloe Rosé is a Pinot Noir-based blend that is light and elegant in style. This dry Rosé is ballet slipper pink in color, offering delicate notes of fresh strawberries, raspberries and watermelon on the nose and palate. The blend is crisp and well-balanced with bright acidity and a creamy mouthfeel.

Domaine Begude Pinot Noir Rosé 2016
Organic, 100% Pinot Noir.  Delicate and refined with wild strawberry and cranberry notes.  An excellent aperitif or pair with light summer meals.

Gassier Sables d’Azure Rosé 2016
Sables d’Azur blends of the best selection of Rosé wines from interior Valley of Provence and Sainte Victoire Terroir. These Côtes de Provence vineyards benefit fully from the Mediterranean climate: mild winters, early spring and moderate summers, when the sun’s continuous and beneficial rays ensure the vines produce fully mature grapes, oozing ripe juice. A dry fresh and clean rosé wine, with crispy acidity, and a wonderful souvenir of Provence!
Domaine Carrel Vin de Savoie Jongieux Rosé 2016
100% Gamay. The clear ruby color leads you to the red fruit aromas(strawberries, raspberries, blackberries). The wine is round and appetizing.

Bieler Pere et Fils Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Rosé  2016
A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault.  It’s clean, light taste seems to promise that attractive strangers are about to drape your body in crisp, sun-dried linen before leading you to a hammock where sultry events will unfold. And with this Rosé you don’t have to worry about morning-after guilt, because one sip will make even regret taste sweet.

Charles & Charles Columbia Valley Rosé 2016
SyrahMourvèdreGrenacheCabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Counoise.  Coming from the Columbia Valley in Washington State, the Charles and Charles Rosé assails your nostrils with the smell of ultra-fresh strawberries and raspberries. It goes down dry, crisp and dangerously easy. It’s time to get serious about your summer drinking so stock up on one of the best rosés of the year.

Domaine du Salvard Cheverny Rosé 2016
65% Pinot Noir and 35% Gamay from vines averaging 20 years of age. This comes from a small vineyard of chalk and sandy soils. This rosé is subtle with soft fruit, racy minerals, and refreshing acidity.

Eric Chevalier Vin de Pays du Val de Loire Pinot Noir Rosé 2016
Made from 100% Pinot Noir and despite its bright red color, it still hits all of the right rosé buttons; light on the palate, fresh & fruit forward, crisp and bone dry. What’s really great about the Eric Chevalier Rosé of Pinot Noir is that it tastes like what it’s made of, great Loire Valley Pinot Noir.

 

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