Everything you need to know about rosé

It can be challenging to keep up with days devoted to food and drink. So far in 2019, we’ve cruised through World Nutella Day (Feb. 5), National Empanada Day (April 8) and National Shrimp Day (May 10). 

On Saturday, June 8, comes a 24-hour stretch people will need little excuse to celebrate: National Rosé Day. But how much do rosé/frosé swillers really know about the stuff? Let’s break down some preconceptions.

All rosés are created the same: White wine blended with a bit of red wine.

Hopefully, you coughed a little. This practice is actually banned in the European Union. Most rosés are made from red grapes intended specifically for rosé, via mingling their juices with skins and stems for a short time. Other rosés are made by “bleeding off” juice during red winemaking, a process called saignée.

The paler a rosé, the drier it is.

Think about the color of white zinfandel, relative to its flavor, and you have your answer. “Color means nothing,” said Adam Schneider, manager and sommelier at Sip & Say Craft Wine & Spirits in Merrick. While many rosé producers aim for the faint salmon hue of rosés from Provence, such rosés can be dense with fruitiness or sugar — while jewel-toned rosés can be dry as a bone. “The production method dictates the color, but it does not dictate the taste,” Schneider added.

He also sees many people getting their circuits crossed when it comes to dryness versus sweetness. “I tell people if you drank a wine that was sweet initially but finished dry, what you had was fruit. If it started sweet and finished sweet, what you had was sweet.” 

Peak rosé means better wine for all of us.

As rosé’s popularity surges, Schneider thinks quality has taken a dip. “[Wineries] never saw it as a yearlong drink, but now more people are drinking it all the time,” he said, leading to some wineries cutting corners to boost production. “Some of the rosé this year seems to be missing the bigger picture of what rosé is supposed to be.”

What is that? “A balanced wine with zippy acidity,” he said, such as the Bailli de Provence Côtes de Provence rosé, which sells for $15 and is the most popular rosé in the shop.