- Singlefile Wines - Premium Fine Wines Australia | Reserve Chardonnay | Shiraz | Semillon Sauvignon Blanc | Rose

Think Pink!

After once being seen as a novelty drink or a compromise when choosing between red or white, rosé sales have increased dramatically throughout the world. This popularity surge is due largely to consumers having a better understanding of wine-making and using their knowledge to seek out new and appealing tastes (listen to our podcast for some insights). The rosé phenomenon is no passing fad either, the pale hues occupying increasingly larger shelf-space of our local wine merchants being an obvious sign of growing demand.

The most common misconception about rosé is that it is made by blending red and white wines. Rosé is in fact made from red wine grapes, most commonly Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache or Pinot Noir. When the grape skins and pips are set aside, the resulting wine is actually colourless. The signature pink tones of a rosé come from allowing the wine contact with the skins until the desired colour is reached.

Rosé wines can vary largely in colour and flavour, however according to Terroir-France, most are made using the following techniques:

‘Gray’ or pale rosé wine
The grapes are pressed immediately and the juice is left in contact with the skin for only a few hours. Rosé wine is then made in the same way as a white wine.

Pink coloured wine
To obtain a coloured pink wine the grapes are crushed and put into the fermentation tank and after fermentation has begun samples are taken hourly until the winemaker is satisfied with the intensity of the colour. After this point the wine is evacuated to another tank to complete fermentation and the must (remaining pips and skins) is discarded and the wine making process goes on as for a white wine.

‘Bleeding’
To obtain an even more intense colour, once an hour, during the initial fermentation the winemaker takes a certain amount of juice out of the tank. When the colour is satisfying, the wine-making process goes on as for a white wine.

Listen in to Coby Ladwig, our winemaker here at Singlefile Wines, describe the winemaking process of our 2008 Rosé. Coby also does a critical review analysing the colour, nose and taste.

As wine makers now set out to create high quality rosé wines to meet the growing demand, unique new blends as well as sparkling and fortified varieties are coming into the market and are being received with great applause.

Rosé is now no longer restricted to being a summer drink, with sales steady across the calendar year and also in traditionally cooler climates. Sales of rosé in the UK and USA have increased by 29% between 2007 and 2008, and in the wine-loving country of France rosé sales now exceed white wine sales in sales by volume.

Singlefile Wines's 2008 Rosé is made from a blend of Cab Sav and Shiraz. The resulting wine is exciting and vibrant, we are proud to offer it as part of our 2008 vintage release.

Singlefile Wines’s Rosé retails for $18.00 ($17.10 if you buy 6 or more) and is available through our website or via a faxed order form.

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