As much as I think a free market philosophy should dominate world trade, boundaries are important. I am worried about today’s news regarding the EU possibly allowing rosé to be made from blending red and white wines, and the French, especially in Provence, are up in arms.
I am not the biggest fan of rosé, nor do I really care that much about how it is made. But in defence of the artistry and integrity of the product and the people who make it, the mix of white and red wine to produce rosé should at least be controlled through labeling. If not, the 93% syrah-7% viognier blend from Las Perdices that I love so much could be called a rosé, and it is anything but.
The practice of mixing together reds and whites is fine, but they should be called red/white blends or rosé blends since their method of production differs so drastically from the production of a true rosé.
In addition, allowing for the white/red blend to enter the market as a rosé, would most certainly dilute the quality of the world rosé market, as I imagine that the majority of wineries that had leftover tanks of white and red, would simply mix some of it together, slap a new label on it, and call it rosé. Far from the idea of planning to make a great rosé or a great wine in general.
Allowing winemakers to enter the market in this fashion certainly does detriment to the winemakers and wineries that hold the integrity of their product above all else. There is certainly nothing wrong with allowing white/red blends to enter the market, but they should not be allowed to compete with “traditional rosé”.
I would venture to argue that the traditional rosé makers be allowed a very specific, controlled label for their product while any white/red blend only be allowed to say expressely that: that it is a blend of two wines made to be separate, distinct and to stand on their own.
Perhaps if a winemaker wanted to specifically create a white wine and a red wine for the creation of a rosé, that could have a separate label as well. But that idea might be a bit complicated for both producers and consumers.
Everett Finn | 13-Mar-09 at 12:07 am | Permalink
Riveting post Sir. Let us clarify the term rose. By definition rose indicates a wine made from red grapes where the skins pass a brief encounter with the juice before being skimmed off.
There are roses, delicious light bodied reds from Provence perfect for picnic baskets full of baguettes and roasted chickens. And then there are “roses”, pink, “you will regret this in the morning” sweet wines that typically come in a box form.
It makes sense for the French to get upset. For their market the term rose is meant to uphold certain traditional wine making techniques. This results in a friendly pink color.
Often wine drinkers perceive this light playful cuteness to indicate sweetness. Low end producers take advantage of this misconception and promote their sub par table potion as rose purely as a marketing ploy. It will undoubtedly hurt the market of roses if consumers begin to confuse traditional methods with cheap pink bags of juice.
However we should not coddle the French. Traditional style roses are not limited to the region of Provence. Many other regions in the world tease the juice of their red grapes by swindling the skins after a brief period of time to create fantastic dry pink spicy wines.
Argentina for example has many great roses of Malbec. In many cases I am in favor of supporting classification. Distinction is not done in favor of snobbery but to protect consumers from confusing define bulk wine from thoughtfully produced traditional styles.
Rose should not be limited to one specific area in France but should draw the line at traditional methods of production. To put it simply rose is NOT made from blending white and red grapes.
Daniel | 13-Mar-09 at 12:39 am | Permalink
In 100% agreement. Especially about not coddling the French.
Just to clarify, my comments about the specificity of the label refer to the production method (red grapes in brief contact with skins vs. blending white and red) and not about an appellation. Rosé can and should come from anywhere.
I appreciate your comment!
Eric | 13-Mar-09 at 11:02 am | Permalink
What would a white and red blend “rose” taste like?
Could it ever be done on a high end level like the Las Perdices to produce a quality wine.
I agree it should have its own title but should it always be considered swill?
Daniel | 13-Mar-09 at 11:17 am | Permalink
The case of the Las Perdice blend of Syrah/Viognier is a case of supreme and detailed planning along with iterative tasting and blending experiments along the way to ensure a quality product.
I’m sure that the possibility exists that many a red/white blend could be made that tastes great. I am open to new possibilities. But they are not nor should they be considered rosé.
And there is nothing wrong with not being rosé. It’s just that in my opinion, winemakers should be planning what they are making and dedicating themselves to a product or style (and that could be many different ones, mind you) and not throwing whatever together and calling it rosé…. Which leads to my next blog post…