From faintly coloured to neon pink, rosé wines seek acceptance | Canada Voices

Despite its popularity, rosé still struggles to be accepted as a fine wine style by consumers and members of the wine trade. As with bags of ice cubes, sales of pink wines in Canada often increase in warm weather.

According to the OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine), rosé production increased by 25 per cent between 2000 and 2021, accounting for around 10 per cent of global wine consumption. In France, rosé sales are strong and currently account for one in three bottles of wine sold throughout the year, with sales rising as red wine consumption has plummeted to half of its 1990s level.

France and Spain produce more than half of the world’s rosé supply, but it is produced in almost every wine-growing region. The quality of Canadian rosés has improved as producers embrace the style and recognize its potential. They have redefined the category by paying close attention to which grape varieties are best suited to producing a stylish rosé and growing those grapes specifically for this purpose.

However, even as quality improves, consumer interest drops dramatically after Labour Day. As with any style of beverage alcohol, rosé is a matter of taste, but it faces an added challenge when even rosé devotees think there’s a seasonality to the style.

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Rosé isn’t a serious wine style

Context matters. The same could be said of white, red and sparkling wines if you judged them solely on the styles of commercial brands. While many rosés are made in a simple, fruity and refreshing style, others are crafted with greater care and attention to detail. For instance, oaked examples, such as Rioja rosado, have long been celebrated by connoisseurs and critics. Winemakers can also produce rosés with a richer texture and depth of flavour by aging them in ceramic or concrete vessels with the dead yeast cells left over from fermentation.

A common complaint from sommeliers and other experts is that rosé cannot age well. Even expensive bottles are marketed as wines to be opened and enjoyed soon after release to capture their freshest character. That goes for Château d’Esclans, which produces the premium Whispering Angel rosé label, Domaine Ott and Minuty, which are responsible for some of the best-selling rosés from the south of France.

However, a well-made rosé – one made from ripe grapes with sufficient tannins and acidity to give the wine freshness and structure – can age well. Those made from grenache, mourvèdre, pinot noir or tempranillo grapes have good potential to mature in the bottle thanks to the levels of anthocyanins, acidity and tannins in these grape varieties.

I welcome any opportunity to taste Domaine Tempier’s legendary rosé from Bandol, which is more orange-pink in colour and has more body and alcohol than the fashionable Provence style. These wines have the potential to age beautifully, but they are snapped up and placed on restaurant wine lists before any dust can collect on the bottles. Likewise, the deeply coloured wines from Tavel, the rosé-only appellation in the southern Rhône Valley, will gain more complexity and character in the cellar.

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Darker colours indicate sweetness or lower quality

The international success of Provence’s dry, pale pink rosés has inspired winemakers worldwide to create their own delicate pink coloured wines. But there is no correlation between colour and quality in rosé wines. Based on recent samples of upcoming releases from Canadian and international wineries, there are welcome signs that interest for darker varieties is growing.

Several variables contribute to a rosé’s colour.

Red and pink wines ultimately get their colour from the pigment in grape skins, so the variety of grape used and how long the skins are left to soak in the clear juice to extract colour are important factors. The longer the soaking time, the darker the colour, with rosé production typically falling between a couple of hours and a full day. As the desired style is fruity and refreshing, winemakers are careful not to leave the skins in contact with the grape juice for too long, as this could result in the extraction of coarse tannins, similar to those found in red wines.

Canadian rosé producers to watch: Domaine Queylus, Henry of Pelham (Three of Hearts), Hidden Bench, Malivoire, Stone Eagle and Two Sisters from Niagara, 1 Mill Road, Burrowing Owl, Evolve, Roche, Le Vieux Pin and Mission Hill from the Okanagan.