Beginner's guide to rosé

Rosé is now the fastest-growing wine category in the UK, and there’s more choice than ever before. From pale Provence pinks and elegant Bordeaux rosés to ripe, fruity styles from Portugal, Australia and beyond, there’s a style and shade for every palate. And don’t forget sparkling rosés – the ultimate romantic tipple.

How rosé wine is made

There are basically three ways of making rosé wine, one of which has been described above. Here they are, in a nutshell:

• Limiting skin contact: Most rosé wines are made by fermenting red grapes and separating the juice from the skins before they take on much colour. Examples include the elegant pale pinks of Provence and Bordeaux.
• Saignée method: Similar to above, but a portion of juice is ‘bled off’ a tank of red wine early in the fermentation – producing a pale pink wine and increasing the depth of the remaining red wine.
• Blending: Some rosé wines, like Flaming Galah, are made by blending red and white wines after fermentation. This might seem the easy option – but it is in fact a very skilled job to get just the right shade for your favourite pink fizz.

You might think that limiting contact with red grape skins is the better method - but neither is inherently superior.

In fact, most rosé Champagnes are made by blending red and white wines to carefully achieve the perfect shade. Even top Champagnes, like Bollinger Grande Année Rosé (circa £150 a bottle), are made this way.

On the other hand, Provence rosé – the gold standard for the pale, elegant pinks that have become a must-have at stylish summer gatherings – is made by limiting skin contact. Wines such as Whispering Angel show that this method can produce elegant, nuanced rosés at the very top level.

The modern, fruity one – deeper pink rosés

Although Provence set the style for pale pink rosés, many winemakers still like to make deeper coloured pinks. These bridge the gap between a red and a white – offering more pronounced red fruit flavours. For this style of pink, look to Australia, where the Shiraz grape makes deep, peppery rosés that go down a treat with barbecued meats.

Is fruity rosé for me? If you like vibrant flavours and a rosé with more body, a modern, fruity rosé won't disappoint.

Visit our Wine Styles Guide to learn more about bright, fruity rosés and discover your new favourite.

The romantic one – Sparkling rosé

Rosé comes in sparkling form, too. Not least from Champagne, where it accounts for around 5% of the bottles produced. Unusually for a rosé wine, pink Champagne is made by blending white wines (made from Chardonnay) with red (made from Pinot Noir and Meunier).

It’s hard to think of a more romantic style of wine than pink Champagne. With its pale pink colour, fine streams of bubbles, aromas of red berry fruit and biscuity brioche notes, it adds a sense of luxury to any occasion. And of course, there are many other countries and regions that produce excellent pink bubbly as you’ll find on our sparkling wine page.

Is sparkling rosé right for me? If you’re looking for a delightful fizz with the added dimension of a lovely pink colour and softer red berry fruit – sparkling rosé will hit the spot.

Other classic rosé styles

There are many other classic rosés to look out for, including some lesser-known treasures and some top spots for bargains. Here are some of my favourites:

• Bordeaux rosé: Bordeaux rosé has been around just as long as its famous reds. Cabernet and Merlot are perfect for the style, producing elegant rosés in varied shades, with lovely summer berry fruit.
• Spanish Rosado: Spain’s most famous region for rosé, Navarra lies just next door to Rioja. Most Spanish rosados are made from the Garnacha grape (aka Grenache) which lends a lovely peppery spice to the wines, alongside crunchy blackcurrant fruit.
• Italian rosato: Some of my favourite Italian pinks come from the sunny Island of Sicily – wonderfully fruity pinks like w/o rosato, just made for sunshine sipping.

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