What's Going On in the World of French Wines

In our house, blue (Duke blue, that is) is usually the color of choice – especially after this year when my beloved Devils captured their 4th NCAA championship. But lately I’ve been thinking pink. Yep, it is once again Rosé season! You can tell not only from the pretty displays in your local wine shop, but also from the explosion on the web of articles recommending different rosé wines. In fact, the wine of the week for next week here on the Wines of France website will be a rosé!

I guess it is a bit of a cliché, but when it comes to Spring and Summer, I really do find myself gravitating to lighter and more refreshing styles of wines. If you were to look in my recycling bin this month, you will find a lot of empty bottles of white, rosé and sparkling wines and only a handful of bottles that once contained red wines. Even with the A/C on, when it comes time to pick out a wine for dinner on a hot summer day, I usually find myself in the mood for something a little on the lighter side.

But the downside of thinking of rosé as only a seasonal wine is that we tend to not take it very seriously. Granted, most rosés are not meant for aging for long periods of time and are best drunk within a year of the vintage. But even if we cast them as a lighter version of red, we need to give them their due. Rosés are still wines and they require winemaker skill and talent to achieve the right level of extraction and balance.

There are a few different ways that rosé wines can be made. In France, one of the most commonly used methods for making rosé involves soaking the skins of the crushed grapes in their juice to extract just a bit of color and tannins. This maceration can last for a few hours to a few days depending on the grape variety and how much color the winemaker is looking to extract. Once the winemaker has determined that the juice has the right balance of components, it is then removed from the skins and fermented just like a white wine would be (without skin contact). While some blush wines you might be familiar with have some residual sugar, most of the rosé wines from France you will encounter in your local wine store will be dry. This of course doesn’t mean that the wines can’t be fruity, but they won’t have the noticeable sweetness you might find in something like a White Zinfandel from California.

While some people might dismiss rosés because of their pretty pink color, those of us who drink them know that there is definitely more to them than meets the eye. Rosés with structure and fruit make for delicious, refreshing and food-friendly wines. All of which are pretty compelling (and serious) reasons to pair a rosé with your next meal. So join me in lightening up and thinking pink. And don’t forget to let me know about your favorite rosé in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!