LA VIE EN ROSE

Despite being often snubbed and underestimated, rosé wine can give great surprises: because it is versatile, fresh, fragrant, slightly tannic and can come in when we have problems with pairing. But how do you make a rosé wine? First we must dispel an old myth that wants a rosé wine to be formed from a mixture of red and white wines. This practice is prohibited by law and is allowed only to form the cuvees of sparkling wines. Rosé wine can be obtained from red grapes or from a mixture of white and red grapes or finally from pink grapes, that is to say containing a few colored pigments. If, on the other hand, red grapes are used, the skins, which give tannins, aromas, and polyphenols, are left to macerate in the must for a few hours to a maximum of 24 hours, depending on the type of grape, color and desired aromaticity. As soon as the color reaches the desired intensity, it is drawn off, and it proceeds as a white vinification. When choosing to use a mixture of red and white grapes, the blend must be calibrated well so that the red dye does not prevail. Among the little colored grapes we remember the Moscato Rosa and the grignolino. In Italy they produce excellent rosé wines, from Trentino to Sicily, with different types of grapes and more and more often they can be drunk even after many years. Among the most famous we remember: the Chairetto del Garda, "wine of one night", because the must is in contact with the skins for a night, made from grapes of Groppello, Marzemino, Barbera and Sangiovese, and the Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo produced with Montepulciano grapes.