Rosé Wine

Contrary to widespread belief, rosé wine is not made by blending red and white wine together – a method only allowed in Champagne. Rather, winemakers extract a little colour from the skins of red grapes. There are various ways of doing this, the most common being to leave the juice in contact with the skins for a very short period before pressing. The Saignée method (French for ‘bleeding’) produces rosé as a by-product of a red wine, by bleeding off a little juice, often yielding a deeper colour and bolder flavours. Recent years have seen Provence rosé, in particular, ride a wave of popularity, though examples can be found around the world – including England – and, of course, in sparkling wines.