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The Best Red Grapes For Making Rosé Wine

The Best Red Grapes For Making Rosé Wine

Rosé Wine - grapes in rosé wine

When it comes to crafting the perfect rosé, the choice of grapes is of paramount importance. Grapes in rosé wine are selected for their ability to strike the delicate balance between red and white wine. These grapes hail from all corners of the globe, each contributing its terroir-driven nuances to the final product. From the luscious Grenache grapes of Provence to the vibrant Sangiovese of Tuscany, each grape variety lends its distinctive flavors and aromas to the world of rosé.

The past two decades have been an exciting ride for rosé. Across the globe, rosé consumption has grown 23% from 2002 to 2019. Its popularity flourished in the summer months of 2011. That’s when hashtags like #yeswayrosé and #roséallday began trending on social media. But, unlike most trends that quickly disappear, rosé stuck around. With interest in celebrity-branded bottles from Drew Barrymore and the Jolie-Pitts, rosé wine became a full-on obsession by 2015.

Dive into the captivating journey of the grapes that make rosé wine so alluring, exploring their unique characteristics and the delightful outcomes they produce.

What Is Rosé? 

To some people, rosé represents one particular style or occasion (happy hour, anyone?). But the spectrum of structures, flavors, and compositions is nearly endless. Unlike white wine made from white or green grapes or red wine made from black, purple or red grapes, rosé has its own identity.

Contrary to some beliefs, rosé is not a combination of red and white wine. The exception, however, is in Champagne, where it is common to add red wine to white wine before they’re put in a bottle to undergo a secondary fermentation. 

Rosé wine incorporates skin contact from red varieties into the winemaking, leading to colors from pale pink to hues of salmon to tinges of orange. The concentration of color depends on the amount of time the skins remain in contact with the grape juice. The flavors come from a combination of the grape variety, the vineyard location, and climate variants such as soil, slope and aspect to the sun, and the vintage’s weather conditions.

Rosé Wine Pour - grapes in rosé wine

Common Red Grapes for Making Rosé Wine

The most common style of rosé is dry (not sweet) and can be made from a single grape variety or a blend of multiple.

Common Grapes In Single-Varietal Rosé Wine

Pinot Noir is grown widely in cool climates and offers poise and ripe fruit flavors in rosé. The grape is perhaps most famous for sparkling versions of rosé hailing from Champagne, which combine Pinot Noir with Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes. 

Grenache

As one of the world’s most widely planted red grape varieties, it’s no surprise that Grenache (or Garnacha in Spain) makes quaffable and juicy rosé. It expresses lifted red fruit flavors and lively characteristics.

Sangiovese

Originating from Italy, Sangiovese has bold characteristics that often translate to subtle spice in rosé. In addition, its red fruit flavors flourish in versions from Italy and other New World wine-growing regions, like California and Australia, where the grape is becoming quite popular. 

Zinfandel

Rosé made from Zinfandel (aka White Zinfandel) is famous for its hay-day in the 80s. Back then, sweet and cheap versions from California saturated liquor store shelves. Today, drier, most balanced versions are proving popular with notes of melon and strawberry. 

Though not as widely-grown, other grapes proving to be popular for rosé are Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Gamay.

Common Grapes In Blended Rosé Wine

Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre

Combined with Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes blend to make Provence Rosé from France. It’s most notable for its fresh, crisp palate with light and fruity flavors. Rosé from Provence is by far one of the most famous and highest-quality versions you can buy.

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