Rosé Wine

There are two main methods used to make Rosé wine. There is often a big misconception that it is a blending of red and white wine. This is rarely the case, and this practice is actually illegal in the EU!

Skin Contact

This is used when rosé wine is the primary product. In this method red grapes are crushed, and the skins are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for a short period, when the grapes are pressed the skins are removed. The skins of red grapes contain much of the tannin and impart a red colour, leaving the wine with its Rosé colour. Thus, the longer the skins are left in contact with the juice, the more intense the color of the final wine.

The difference between rosé and red and white wines is that the time for contact between the grape juice and skin is less than red wine but longer than white wine.

Saignée (or bleeding)

Here Rosé wine is a secondary product. Saignée is used when the winemaker wants to give a red wine more tannin and color. This is done by removing some juice from the vat. This increases the concentration of grape skins, which impart the tanin and colour to the red wine, allowing a more deeply coloured wine to be obtained.

The removed juice is fermented separately, and it will have some tannin and colour from being partly being made into red wine. This gives the Rosé wine its colour.

Return to the Wine Guide Contents
A brief history of Wine | Growing Vines and Grapes | Harvesting | Making Red Wine | Making White Wine | Making Rosé Wine | Making Champagne | To Oak or not to Oak? | From Fermentation to Bottle