R is for Rose
Notes for the Rosé pack? Is that not a bit over the top? Yes it is, but truth be told Rosé is a more serious proposition that it used to be. It has a bad reputation from the olden days because the French used to send all the shit to the uk - oh how they'd love even that now! (I will go more than one set of notes without a Brexit joke soon) and in general wine makers didn't bother themselves to much to make a really good Rosé. Is it milennials and the rise of instagram? Is it improvements in winemaking? Is it celebrities like Brangelina, Kylie and Norton? Why is Rosé having its moment now?
The answer is probably a mixture of all of the above coupled with the fact it is the ultimate modern wine for the modern wine drinker. It's universal, versitile, refreshing and most of all fun. People will whinge about it, but they are usually the same people that start talking about Cru Beaujolais when all you want to do is have a Nouveau party and drink barely fermented Gamay. Those people need more craic in their lives - they need some Rosé. We got 6 beauties here for you to try from the fashionable, to the salt of the earth, to the curveballs. Some are better with food, all are delicious and refreshing.
ROSE IS RED AND WHITE MIXED TOGETHER RIGHT?
NO. In fact, all of the juice from white and black (red) grapes runs clear. The colour in wine comes from skins being left in contact with this juice. The more contact there is, the more they are worked, pressed and stirred into the juice, the heavier the wine. Volpolicella for example, which is almost thick and syrupy, is left in contact a long time (months), it is heavily extracted, taking all of the various flavoral compounds and tannins from the skins to make a heavy and dense wine. It is then matured in barrel and bottle, not the case for our frivilous friend rose. Rosé is made with red grapes (in fact apart from in Champagne it's illegal to mix red and white together in the EU).
Rosé production is very easy compared to most styles. The grapes are crushed, the juice is extracted, and then the skins are left in contact with said juice for a short amount of time - sometimes even a number of hours. The result is literally a 'blushing' of the juice. The wine is bottled and shipped to market. It is then sold and distributed swiftly and consumed even more swiftly.
It stays on instagram longer than in the bottle. That's why we love it - uncomplicated and easy. This is a no strings attached wine.
Rory
