It’s summer. I live in Texas. It’s hot. I drink rosé. Who’s with me here? Summer is for drinking light, bright, crisp and fresh wines. Rosé is one my husband and I always agree on as I can have it with any of my vegetarian or pescatarian dishes. If he chooses the carnivorous route, a rosé can hold it’s own against any pork, chicken or barbecue coming off the grill. But this? No way rosé!
So why would I even question whether a pinky, salmony, rosey colored wine was actually a rosé? Let’s get into the nerdy details and stay tuned, my podcast partner, Charisse Henry, and I will deep dive rosés on an upcoming episode of Somm Women Talk Wine podcast! I’m not going to give away all the fun, but this one nerdy fact caught me off guard and it’s worth sharing!
In our podcast, we’ll talk through all the great ways rosé can be made – blending, direct press, saigneé, limited maceration, and on and on. From faint pink to deep fascia, all rosé wines get their gorgeous color from some exposure to red grape skin contact. Or so I thought….
This seriously cannot be a rosé
The plot begins to thicken during a chat with Peter Hemsted at Saint Croix Vineyards. I know you remember him – the mad grape scientist! After adventuring through the vineyards, the fun begins with tasting wine. First up, a STUNNER of a rosé. Rose of Marquette to be exact. Wham, bam, here comes the shocker!
In my many wine education events, I always keep it simple – wine grapes, regardless of skin color, have whitish, pale green pulp. End. Of. Story. Or so I thought! Based on the luscious deep pink of the Marquette Rosé, I naively ask Peter how much time the wine spent in contact with the skins. NONE! What? NONE! How can that be?!
I love wine and learning about wine because there’s a never-ending plethora of facts, insights, new styles, new varietals and new wines to learn. Teinturier. There, you have it. Teinturier. What specifically is it? To be exact, this term refers to grapes with pulp, flesh, skin and juice containing anthocyanin pigments resulting in RED, yes RED color.
No way rosé? Yes way rosé?
Hold me back, a new nerdy wine fact! While technically a rosé, the Marquette Rosé from Saint Croix Vineyards is made exactly like a white wine! Grapes harvested, pressed and juice fermented. No skin contact whatsoever. No way rosé! Well, Peter proved me wrong!
Don’t want to miss our Rosé episode? Follow, Like, Share SOMM WOMEN TALK WINE Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or Amazon Music!
Cheers!
Hi Friend! Don’t miss another adventure!!
