What is rosé wine? As most of us learned in high school health class, there are three basic types of alcoholic beverage: liquor, wine, and beer. You can make liquor out of basically anything, from grains to berries to cactuses, to the point that there’s probably more basic types of liquor than any one person on earth knows about. Beer has a narrower scope, but over the past few decades it too has exploded into a variety of distinct beverages, from stouts and porters to IPAs and sours.
Wine however, despite the intricacies of its varietals, has only three basic types: red, white, and rosé. And of those types, the lay person knows far more about red and white wine than they know about rosé. So what is rosé? You’ve come to the right place to find out. Here are 4 facts about rosé wine!.
FACT 1: Rosé is made out of red grapes
If you don’t know much about rosé (or wine in general) you might think that the pale pink wine is made from a special type of pink grape, or maybe that it’s created by mixing together red and white wine. Nope! In fact, Rosé is made with red grapes, and is prepared in such a way that the wine only retains a little bit of the color and tannins of the skin.
FACT 2: Rosé is generally considered a spring and summer wine
Even though it shares its source with red wines, a rosé is functionally more similar to a white. That means that it’s best to drink it chilled in the warmer months, perhaps paired with some light appetizers or a delicious seafood dish. That’s no hard and fast rule, though! If you want to enjoy your rosé at room temperature in the middle of winter, you’re still going to find it delicious.
FACT 3: Rosé might be closer to historical red wines than modern day reds
Next on our list of facts about rosé wine is a bit of a shocker for the aficionados of the wine community. When we hear about the ancient Greeks drinking red wine, it’s likely that they were actually drinking something closer to rosé! As wine production improved over the ages, we got better at squeezing every last tannin out of the skins, leading to the rich, dark red wines we have today. But before we had this technology, red wine was a good deal paler and sweeter- much like a rosé.
FACT 4: Rosé can be aged
A common misconception about rosé is that it should be enjoyed soon after it is bottled, to preserve the light, crisp flavors that many associate with summer. But the fact of the matter is that many rosé wines mature with age just like reds. Crack open a vintage after a couple of years and the taste will be more full and complex than you expect.
That’s it for these facts about rosé wine. If we’ve made you thirsty, be sure to check out our online store and treat yourself to a bottle of Amarose!
