Rosé Wine

Moreover, the world’s most prestigious competition between sparkling wines, The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, created in the 2014 by Tom Stevenson, has nominated the Dom Ruinart Rosé 2004 in a magnum format, as the winner, by Maison Ruinart. It is mainly composed for the 81% by grapes  Composto Chardonnay Grand Cru, from the Côte des Blancs (Avize, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger)  and the Montagne de Reims (Sillery, Puisieulx), while for the other 19%  is made of Pinot Nero grapes, vinified in red, exclusively from the Cru of Sillery. They are harvested by hand and aged in stainless steel tanks. In conclusion, a rosé wine winning an award, is a great achievement for Italian wines, especially for this category, which has always been mistreated.

A legend on rosé wine

Rosé wine seems often to be the third wheel or a real and proper fusion between white wine and red wine, but it is actually a trend which is getting more and more popular in the last years, among young people.

According to a legend, rosé wine was born by chance in a small village near Verona, by will of a priest. He had an orchard where he could cultivate vines, producing the wine needed for the celebration of mass, and vegetables with which he could eat.

He actually neglected his garden and relied exclusively on the generosity of the believers, who gave him their wines, as well as fruits and vegetables to eat. One day, the villagers decided not to give him anything anymore. In order to get back the wine to be used for the mass, he had to sneak into the cellar of the village, pierce one of the casks and get the wine he needed.

Those marcs had been in contact with the must for just few hours and therefore, the unfermented wine had a pinkish color. The deception was discovered, but the extraction of the wine in a phase of not complete aging, stimulated the creativity of the viticulturists of the village, who started producing rosé wine for the first time.

According to scholars, rose wine was born in France, where up to these days it is still considered the wine par excellence, so much as to become the symbol of Christmas. During the course of the twentieth century, the production methods of this wine spread in Italy. The first rosé winery was the one owned by Leone De Castris, who started producing rosé wine in 1925.

How do you produce rosé wine?

In order to make rosé wine, skins of red grapes are left to macerate in the must for a short time: maximum 24-48 hours. This is the true origin behind the color of the wine.

Another important characteristic of this wine is its versatility: it is a wine suited for every situation and it can be matched to many kinds of dishes. We usually know that red wine is matched to meat and white wine to fish, whereas this one is more versatile.

Therefore, we debunked the myth of rose wine as a blend of white and red wine. Let's discover which are the best ones in Italy.

The 3 best rosé wines

A noteworthy Apulian rosé wine is Leone de Castris Five Roses Rosato Salento Igt, the first one to be sold in Italy. It is composed by Negroamaro and Malvasia di Lecce and with its crystalline cherry color, it strikes the aroma of cherry and strawberry, which is found on the palate as smooth and fresh. The vinification takes place with the maceration of the grapes at 10° C in a pellicular way, then it is fermented in steel wines. It is easy to serve, not too cold; it is good to drink it five minutes after opening. It is excellent with risotto, mushrooms, and white meats. A tulip-shaped white wine glass is also good for this wine. Let's move on to a Calabrian wine, also very particular, Librandi Segno Cirò Rosato DOC. It derives from three generations of work in the Cirò DOC area, four estates, obtained from pure Gaglioppo grapes, of great freshness and versatility.

It has a beautiful cherry pink color, the scent is fruity, with a pleasant salty and marine note in the background. On the palate it is fresh and balanced with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Grapes are vinified in thermo-conditioned stainless-steel tanks and then aged for about two months. It is excellent for first and second courses based on fish and it is also worthy trying with pizza. Frescobaldi Rèmole Rosé Toscana IGT  comes from the heart of Tuscany, it derives from the tradition of 700. It has a light and fresh aroma with fruity notes, a fresh and smooth flavor and an excellent sapidity, a crystal pink color given by the Sangiovese grapes. Remole Rosé is versatile, to be enjoyed as an aperitif strictly cold, perfect with first and second courses of fish or vegetables. It should be drunk after about 15 minutes from the opening, and it can be easily served in a white wine glass.

Italian Wine Lovers: wine wholesalers for your wine shop

On the website www.italianwinelover.it you can find a great selection of Italian rosé wines. They are the best wine wholesalers; they work in the B2B market and are consolidated in the market for the supplying of wine shops and supermarkets. On the website you can also find dessert wines e sparkling  of different kinds: dry, extra dry, brut and extra brut.