If you’ve followed Partner in Wine since the beginning, you’ll know it was founded upon a love of rosé, and in tandem, a lack of love for warm rosé. So, with National Rosé Day upon us, we’re putting the world to rights and busting myths that you’ve probably heard through the grapevine (pardon the pun) surrounding the pink drink.

 

#1 Rosé is a blend of red and white grapes 

Remove the rose-tinted glasses, cause’ we’re setting the record straight with this first one. While it’s a common assumption that rosé is a blend of red and white grapes, it’s actually only a blend of the former.

Rosé wine is mostly always made using black grapes, with the exception of Rosé champagne where Chardonnay (a white grape variety) is used. After harvesting and crushing the grapes, the fermentation takes place. This is our favourite part where grape juice turns into alcohol. Just like red wine production, the skins are left on the grapes to ensure colour, tannins and flavours go into the wine, but then instead of being fermented at a high temperature, the Rosé production process ferments at a lower temperature just like the white wine production. PHEW. This process is shortened so that there is minimal grape skin contact with the wine to ensure it holds that pink colour we know and love. I absolutely love a Rose from Provence, which is typically made with a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault grape varieties which are all black grapes.

 

#2 Fifty shades of pink: the darker, the sweeter...

Wrong! As per the previous myth buster, rosé darkerns depending on the length of time the red grapes are in contact with one another, or the grape has a thicker-skin. So pale rosé’s aren’t always dry, and darker rosé’s aren’t always sweet! The level of sweetness actually comes from the fermentation process, not maceration.

Look out for Rosé that is orange as that can be an indication that the wine has oxidised...ew!

 

#3 Rosé is a summer drink 

You could argue that the refreshing taste of a Provence rosé dubs it as an emblem of summer, but don’t be fooled because the pink stuff is good all year round hunnies. It’s a best of both worlds kinda beverage. Lighter rosé’s work well in summer paired with salads and BBQ’s but equally, dark rosé works well for seasonal winter dishes like roast chicken or lamb. A Pinot Noir Rosé makes an excellent choice. 

 

#4 Rosé’s a new trend 

#drinkpink always trends around this time of year, and some would say it’s become a bit of a millennial obsession. But rosé has actually been around for decades, dating back to the Romans. Some of the first French produced wines were in fact rosé wines, so that provençal light and crisp taste of sweetness you’ve been sipping has been around longer than you think! 

 

#5 Rosé is cheap 

Rosé is generally quite an affordable drink, but there’s also some well-crafted delicious rosé’s too. Like with red and white wine producers, you get the good, the bad and the ugly... so you just have to make sure you’ve got a good eye to spot them. Provence Pure by Mirabeau is my favourite, so make sure you give it a try! 

 

So when you’re drinking rosé from your Partner in Wine this National Rosé Day, make sure you’re sharing your newly founded rosé wisdom to continue busting those myths!