What is Rosé? How do you distinguish between a sparkling and a still wine? Patrick covers the basics for you in the video, and more information follows here:
Rosé, also known as Rosado (Portugal, Spain) and Rosato (Italy), is wine that takes some color from the grape skins, but not enough to be classified as a red wine. Rosé is produced through the “skin contact method”, whereby the juice from blackskin grapes sit with the skins for a short period after crush. Longer exposure to the skins translates to darker color in the wine.
Sparkling wine is wine that contains significant levels of dissolved carbon dioxide, producing the bubbles. Although it is produced in many regions around the world, the phrase often refers to champagne. The EU actually reserves that word by law exclusively for the sparkling wine of the Champagne region in France. However, champagne comprises only about 8% of sparkling wine production globally.
The bubbles in sparkling wine come from the dissolved carbon dioxide content and are normally the result of a natural, “secondary” fermentation, either in a bottle (the traditional method) or in a large tank designed to withstand high pressure. Some cheaper sparkling wines receive their carbonation through the injection of carbon dioxide. Sparkling wine is usually either white or Rosé, but many red sparkling wines do exist. The sweetness of sparkling wines can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.