A Guide to Rosé: Production, Taste, and Regions

Here at Mai Vino, we believe informed customers are happy customers, and as such, we continue to help our customers learn about the many regions and processes of great winemaking.

Rosé is a style of wine that is off-handedly known as pink wine. It is especially popular in the summer months as an alternative to full-bodied reds and white wines that might have been enjoyed year-long. Although rosé has grown in popularity in the US market over the last few years, rosé has been popular in France for decades.

How Rosé differs from Red and White Wines

A bottle of rosé may commonly be a shade of pink, but the color spectrum and minerality vary with each product. The wine’s pink color can range from a pale orange tint to an almost violet color, depending on how it is made and what red grapes are used. 

While red wine is made from red wine grapes, white wine is typically made from white grape varietals. Rosé’s distinct pink color comes from a unique winemaking process. Rosé is most often produced from a unique method of winemaking known as the skin contact method.

Skin Contact Production of Rosé

To make rosé, winemakers crush black or red-skinned grapes like syrah or the red Sangiovese grape in a process known as maceration. Then, the skins of the grapes are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for anywhere from two to twenty hours. After this time, the grape mixture is pressed, and the grape skins are discarded. The skins would be kept for much longer in red wine production to increase tannins and concentrates. The longer the skins are left in contact with the juice, the darker the color gets.

There are two other methods for producing rosé: saignée, or bleeding and blending. For bleeding, winemakers producing red wine like merlot, cabernet sauvignon, or pinot noir remove some of the pink juice from the fermentation vat early and set it aside. This pink juice can then make rosé in a separate fermentation.

It is also possible to make rosé by mixing or blending red and white wines. However, this method is highly discouraged by traditional winemaking communities. This practice is illegal everywhere in France except for the Champagne region. 

Rosé Flavor Profile and Notes

Like all types of wine, the flavors and aromas of rosé vary greatly depending on the product’s terroir and grape varietal. Generally, the primary flavors of rosé are flowers, citrus, red fruits or grapefruit, and watermelon.

A deep-colored fruity rosé like an Italian Rosato or rosado will usually have mild acidity, orangey-citrus flavors, and notes of cherry. Dry rosé wines like French rosé, like French grenache rosé, will have melon, celery, and lemon zest notes.

Top Rosé Producing Wine Regions

France, Spain, Italy are generally where some of the most well-known rosé wines are produced. The Provence and Rhône regions in France, also known as Côtes de Provence, create some of the most delicate rosés on the planet using cinsault grapes. Provence rosé is famous for its pale color and light melon flavor. Italy has long been famed for its lighter wines, like sparkling rosé and prosecco. California rosé and rosé champagne are also often from Sonoma in California, Oregon, and Long Island in New York.

Enjoy Some Rosé With Mai Vino

Mai Vino is a female-led winery known for producing high-quality wine and packaging it in an eco-friendly bag. All our wines are entirely organic, made without pesticides, and fermented with indigenous yeast - in the style of natural wine. 

Our rosé comes from Navarra, located in the northernmost region of Spain bordering France. Navarra is best known for its Rosé. It gained this reputation during the Middle Ages, as medieval pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago route began noting the exceptionally high quality of wines encountered while passing through the Kingdom of Navarra.

Our rosé is grown on nutrient-rich soils made of calcareous clay, sand, and tiny pebbles. These soils are famous for producing muscular wines with high extract and color.   

Our latest wine tastes like a juicy, muscular strawberry with a spicy attitude. 

At Mai Vino, we aim to provide you with the best wines on the market so you can enjoy your wine without any worries. Try our rosé today and taste the care and love we put in each of our wines.