Bubbly Pink Drink- What’s It All About?
If a type of wine had a cult with an extremely dedicated following or worshippers, it would be rosé. Indeed the prettiest of all wines, rosé might have had the most significant glow-up of anyone and anything in this century. Don’t @ us but we’re willing to go out on a limb and say rosé might even be more popular than Beyonce. And yes, even as a wine company, that hurt to write. According to Nielsen, dollar sales for rosé in the USA have grown year after year and, in 2019, grew 42%. Basically, who needs champagne? This pink wine is the ‘it’ wine right now, and we’re more than okay with it.
But have you ever stopped and wondered what rosé wine is? Last time we checked, there were no pink grapes growing in any wine regions, not even at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory (the O.G. version, not the creepy 2005 version). What kind of beautiful witchcraft leads us to the pale pink drink of the century?
Don’t worry, we did our research, and here is what you should know about rosé wine!
What Does Rosé Taste Like? When to Drink Rosé?
If beautiful had a taste, it would be rose wine. Rose wines have the ability to be either sweet or dry, but typically, they are more on the dry end of the taste spectrum. The primary flavors in rosé are red fruit, flowers, citrus, and melon, complete with a pleasant green taste. Bev offers a crisp and dry rosé with aromatics of fresh strawberry and raspberry, paired with a crisp white peach finish. In general, rosé has a similar flavor profile of light red wine but is brighter and crisper both in its light pink color and fruity taste. This is precisely why you’re more apt to pop open a can of rosé in the summer, think picnics and barbeques (we’re imagining an afternoon sipping blush wine in the Provence region in France with other princesses, but we didn’t want to come on too strong with our imagination).
A less wine educated person than you or I might try to say that rosé can be made by mixing red wine with white wine. True, it would make a rosé colored wine, maybe? But, and we cannot emphasize this enough, this is NOT the kind of rosé you want to drink! Please, please help us put an end to this incredibly tragic winemaking conspiracy theory of mixing red and white grapes! In fact, the mixing of red wine and white wine to create coloring is discouraged in most wine regions and in France, it is even forbidden by law!
Here is ACTUALLY how rosé is created: the skins of red wine grapes touch grape juice for a short time. This is sometimes referred to as maceration, which is more specifically defined as the “softening and breaking down of skin resulting from prolonged exposure to moisture.” Anyone else suddenly get “Silence of the Lambs” vibes or is that just happening to us?
Quickly moving on, if you’ve ever bitten into a grape, then you know their insides are clear. So, when any type of grapes is juiced, the juice is clear. Red wines get their coloring because they ferment for weeks at a time on red grape skins soaking up all those tannins. In contrast, rosé wines are only stained with grape skin contact for a few hours under the watchful eye of winemakers. The longer the skins stay in contact with the juice, the more intense the wine’s pink coloring will be. And just to clarify, a White Zinfandel is not the same thing as a rosé— yes, we know they're both pink.
While this is arguably the most common technique to make rosé, there are other methods. French for 'bleed,' the saignee method is another process that entails "bleeding" off a portion of red wine juice after being in contact with the skins. After grapes are picked at optimal ripeness for red wine creation, the juice is put into a vat with the grapes' skins and seeds. After the juice has been in the vat for a few hours or a few days, a portion of the juice is bled off and ferments without skins and seeds. This type of rose is typically darker and stronger than rosé that has been created from other methods.
The other two methods of rosé creation are Vin Gris and Decolorization. By using the Vin Gris technique, the wine will result in a softer pink color. Wines made in this method are made from the immediate pressing of red skin grapes, foregoing any maceration time. Decolorization is exactly what it sounds like: decolorizing red wine to become more pink. This is typically done with absorbent charcoal. However, because the charcoal ultimately ends up removing much more than just the color, this method is typically not used in the production of higher quality wines.
Rosé can be made with grape varietals from all over, from Spain, with a Grenache, Rioja, or Tempranillo rosado, to Italy, where Sangiovese rosato reigns supreme, and France, with the famed provençal rosé or even a rosé Champagne. Our lovely new world rosé grapes are born in California (can we give a shout out to Napa!).
When should you drink rosé? Whenever your heart desires, so long as it's appropriate and you’re not operating heavy machinery. Rose is most commonly associated with summer because it feels light and fresh. But if you’re craving wine in the winter, we say go for it. And while we’re telling you to embrace your inner cravings, we also suggest you go with Bev Rose.
What Foods Pair Well With Rose Wine?
So, if you’ve read a few of our blogs, you know that food that is always on our mind. So before we dive into what to pair with rose, let’s talk about how you should serve it. Unlike their sibling, Rosé should always be chilled, whether it's Italian, Spanish, or from the Rhône Valley. If you’re super particular, that should be around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
So back to what we wanted to talk about: let’s talk about what foods pair best with rosé. Rose is actually very food-friendly and pairs well with...well, almost anything. Those fruity flavors in rose pair deliciously with spicy food, and because it’s light, also allows it to pair well with sushi and salad.
But, as we mentioned, rosé is the ideal drink for summer, whether it's a sweet rosé or it's bone-dry like a Pinot Noir rosé. In our professional unbiased opinion, everything tastes better with rosé, and you don't have to be a sommelier to know it. And again, in our profession unbiased opinion, everything tastes incredible with Bev Rosé (the best rosé out there). Again, remember, these are all extremely unbiased opinions that we’re just casually sharing.
But since we’re in the mood to share, we’re going to talk about the specifics of what goes with rosé. Lately, we’ve been craving this delicious recipe from our #momgoals blogger, Liz Adam’s. While in her blog post she says it goes with everything, we know she meant it goes with Bev Rosé. Check out Liz Adam’s Peach and Burrata Summer Salad here. Another recipe we’ve been eyeing and dreaming about is from our girl crush Carissa Stanton. Apparently only five minutes to make (aka roughly ¼ a can of Bev in sipping time), Carissa Stanton’s Shrimp & Asparagus sounds like it’d be nice and refreshing with a nice can of sparkling rosé. If you’re feeling yourself, you can even pour it into a wine glass.
But what about you? What's your go-to rosé food pairing, sweet or savory?
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