Summer of Rosé: About Rosé Wines

With their light pink colors and chilled temperatures, rosé wines are often associated more with white wines, sweeter wines, "chick wines." But consider that most often these are made from red grapes and can almost "feel" like a red wine at time. Rosés can be produced in two primary ways:

• They can be made in the same fashion as red wine, but the skins (the lees) are removed much sooner in the process, giving the finished product less time to pick up the pigmentation.
• If a maker is looking to make a particularly hearty red, they may draw off a bit of juice from the grapes early on, to increase the flavor density of the remaining wine. This drawn off wine can be used to make a rosé.