Just 15 or 20 years ago in talking about wine, the term rosé was nonsense and not widely used in our beloved wine industry. At that time, there were a bunch of European wine producers doing a serious job with Rosé, only a bit less than that in America and handful of Australians, South Americans and New Zealanders. Even though Rosé had been around for a long time, it wasn’t everybody’s thing.
For some consumers, it was an escape from a bad year crop. For some others, it was just a girl’s drink but the truth is it was going to be a new great thing for the wine industry. 

 French rosé, Spanish rosado, Italian rosato, American blush – these virtually the same thing: a pink wine, not too white, not too dark, with different tones. All representing a common idea of an “in-between” of whites and reds and more importantly, a new market to capture.

 Honestly, I wasn’t particularly into rosé wine up until 10 years ago when my sister, who at the time was living in Aix-en-Provençe, brought to me in Barcelona a couple of bottles of “Côtes de Provençe”, a €3 wine locally produced. I thought it was just a funny wine as soon as I saw it but when I had the first glass, a complete new opinion about rosé wines was born.

 Rosés are made in two ways, doing a much lighter red wines with red grapes or combining white and red wines. The second method is not commonly used. The trick is, just do a regular wine with red grapes and only leave the skin in contact with the must a really short period of time.

 The point is not really how to make rosé wine, it is just to confirm, as many have already done, how great a wine a rosé can be. 

Ever since 2005, I’ve been on the chase for good rosé that can match that first sensation I had back in Barcelona. Good enough, I have been able to reach some of the greatest rosados there are on the market! For example, one can get adventurous and try a nice Argentinean bubbly Malbec rosé; “Alma Negra” is one of my favorites. Going north to the U.S, a great Sangiovese rosé from “Silverado Vineyards”, crossing to Europe, “Marques de Riscal” rosado, a great rosé made out of Tempranillo, next to Spain, in Portugal, the always great “Mateus” which made with touriga nacional with a fizzy end that makes you fall for it. And there are endless Australian, Italian, and Chilean examples for you to try and make your favorite.

But again, don’t get me wrong, I know there’s a “cliché” with rosé. I just think that if you like it, go crazy and explore that huge rosé world. A lot of grapes are used today to do rosé wines so all of them are going be different. Some rosé wines are to drink, some to pair with delicious food, some to impress and some to just try and get to the next chapter.

As with every wine, there are loves and hates. Me? I just love rosé and plan to keep looking every day for a different grape, country and wine maker to impress me and enjoy the world of rosé!

 Salud!