Summer is officially here so it’s time to chill down those Rosé wines, get that BBQ out and dine alfresco while we can. (don’t forget what British summer weather can be like) Now, I always tell people to drink whichever wine they like and whenever they want to drink it, but when it comes to Rosé I’m afraid to say I only really drink it in the summer months. Sorry wine lovers but you just can’t get the same experience from drinking Rosé outside on a hot summers day compared to sitting indoors in winter while it’s snowing.
The difference is night and day and I’m sure many people will agree with me on this. It’s the same when it comes to food. Fish & chips will always taste better when you’re sitting on the seafront compared to sitting in the middle of the countryside. Don’t forget when drinking wine many other senses come into play including sight, sound and smell.
So what actually is Rosé wine? Well, Rosé started off as a mistake from winemakers trying to make red wine. It was far too light in color for them to pass off as red, so they had the idea to chill it down and drink as a pre-dinner drink or with food. I would like to say that to make Rosé wine you just add a little red wine to white, But that process is illegal and if caught doing so you could end up with fines or even imprisonment.
There’s only one place in the world where you can blend red and white wine together, and that’s Champagne in France. With both red and green grapes having the same clear colour in its juice where does the red come from? It all comes down to the skins. Red wine gets its colour from the red skin contact. The longer you leave the skins in contact with the juice the darker the red wine will be, less time in contact with the juice the lighter it will be. So when it comes to Rosé which can be very slightly red in colour, skin contact would have been no more then a few hours. You’ll find a lot of tannin in the skins too, winemakers don’t really want this in their wine especially if making Rosé There’s only one place in the world for me that makes the best Rosé wine and that’s Provence in the south of France.
88% of the wine production in Provence is Rosé, So I’am sure they know a thing or two about this style of wine. The wine that I have chosen to drink this Summer is…
Château de Berne Rosé 2016 Côtes de Provence
£11.99 Majestic Wine
COUNTRY GRAPE SWEETNESS
France Grenache Cinsault Dry
Salmon pink in colour with aromas of stone fruit and slight cherry blossom; this wine is crisp and dry, but has a refreshing youthful character and is well balanced with summer fruits. When it comes to Rosé you want to be drinking within 2 years of when the wine was made. Unlike me, Rosé does not improve with age. This is a well made wine with bags of fruit and a very long finish.
I highly recommend you drink this super chilled on a hot sunny day outside. Rosé can be hard to match with food, but with this wine it has enough body to pair with Thai cuisine, Salads, shellfish and even a light red meat like veal. To be honest this wine is so good every time I open a bottle I’ve only paired it with a wine glass. So the next time you’re out looking for a new summer wine check out Château de Berne Rosé 2016 and let me know how you got on with it via Twitter.
W| By Via #FoodandDrink
