Best Rose Wine

 

Best  Rose Wine

 Best Rose Wine is a much underrated style of wine. There's nothing to compare with a frosty-cold glass of fresh, young, pink wine on a hot summer's day, yet many people simply associate rose with sugary, old-fashioned plonk and avoid it. It's easy to see why - there are lots of badly made roses out there.

Rose can be made in three different ways: either the red grapes are crushed and the skins left in with the juice for several hours until the colour and flavors have leached off into the liquid, which is then fermented; or, for a lighter style, the juice is run off the skins straight away and fermented, or, very occasionally, red wine is blended with white.

Because this is a fragile type of wine not built with the structure to last well, you may come across a lot of pink that is simply past its best and tastes dull and flat. But persevere - the clever wine-buyer knows how to avoid the fading blooms, coming up rose with the snappiest, most refreshing pinks around. Here you will find out how.

Best  Rose Wine

Even when you know how to spot a decent rose, it's essential to be aware that many different styles of pink wine are made around the world. A fine, delicate rose from the cool Loire in France is nothing like a rich, powerful Grenache rose from South Australia. And dryness/sweetness levels vary a lot, too, so be prepared for that. Then it's essential to choose the right moment to sink some pink; perhaps more so than with any other style of wine, rose only suits certain occasions.

Summery weather, outside dining, light salads and cold meats, fruit and mild cheeses... all these shout 'rose!'. I never, ever want pink wine in the deep mid-winter, or with a hearty stew, or when I'm drinking by the fireside. That's probably why we all enjoy rose on our summer holidays but rarely get a kick out of the bottle we bring home and crack open in chilly October! So, pick a pink with care, and pick the perfect moment to enjoy it. 

Best  Rose Wine

 

ROSE WINE APPEARANCE 

rose wine can be anything from almost white, with the very palest tinge of pink, to a bright, sunset peachy-orange, and even a deep cerise, like a light red.

ROSE WINE TEXTURE 

The lightest roses are thin and lean, even dilute, but the richest are weighty, almost syrupy in richness.

ROSE WINE AROMA

Think of red berries - rose should always have an appealing, fresh fragrance of raspberries, cherries, strawberries or cranberries. Some have more blackcurrant and plums on the bouquet, others smell of rosehip cordial. Look out for a subtle hint of grass on leaner styles and even a whiff of vanilla ice-cream - raspberry ripple is quite common!

ROSE WINE FLAVOR

Those red berries should charge through on the palate, too, along with a creaminess on the richer styles. Some roses have a thin, disappointingly short finish, while the chunkiest have a much more lingering flavor, like a red wine, with some slight tannin on the finish. There should always be a sense of fresh, crisp acidity in rose. Be aware that some are bone- dry, others are medium to sweet.