Rosé
Brief skin contact — red grapes, white-ish wine.
Defining structure
Saignée or short maceration of red grapes. ABV 11–13%; usually dry; drink young.
History
Pale rosé has been made along the French Mediterranean for centuries — Provence's tradition predates the modern category by hundreds of years. Through most of the 20th century rosé was a regional curiosity outside southern Europe, with the brief American White Zinfandel boom of the 1970s and 80s representing a sweeter, faintly pink offshoot. The post-2010 global dry-rosé boom transformed Provence into a luxury export and sparked rosé production in nearly every wine region. Sales of dry pink wine in the US grew several-fold over the 2010s. Modern technique splits between the saignée method (bleeding off pink juice from a red ferment) and direct press (red grapes pressed immediately for quick release).
Classic examples
Food pairings
Serving notes
Serve at 45–50°F.