As the temperature creeps up, ensure you have a bottle of rosé wine (or two) in the fridge. Your taste buds will thank us later.
With the temperature rising and the sun increasingly shining on al fresco diners, it can mean only one thing – it’s time to enjoy rosé, the wine that boasts the best of both worlds.
Rosé has to be one of the most under-appreciated wine categories, especially here in Asia, where the wine wary tend to stay true with the classics. But the great thing about rosé, which despite its name, comes in every hue between ruby red and ripe orange, is that it’s light enough for white wine drinkers to appreciate, and offers enough complexity for red drinkers to take it seriously, making it the near-perfect summer vino, especially for those long lazy lunches under the sun.
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It is true that rosé went and got herself a bit of a cheap reputation. But a Rosé Revolution has taken place across both New World and Old World wine regions and gone are the days of the sweet, mass-produced “blush” wines that all but guaranteed a killer hangover the next day. These have been replaced with modern, clean, crisp wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and even France. Served chilled, these wines are refreshing, characteristically as dry as the Gobi, easy on the head, and ideal for a spot of amateur wine matching.
Rosé’s hue typically results from red grapes being crushed and left to soak in their own juice, usually only for a couple of days. When the skins are removed, (as opposed to red wine production, where they’re left in throughout fermentation), the juice retains a reddish colour and some red wine characteristics, including tannin flavours. An alternative process sees pink juice “bled” from red wine vats to create a more concentrated and robust red wine.
However, rosé’s newfound popularity has been hard-earned. Because of the reputation of “blush” wines as cheap supermarket varieties drunk by bored housewives and ambivalent teens, rosés were lumped together with the likes of Chenin Blanc and Semillon, both of which have also managed to climb from the pits of obscurity and into newfound popularity. Today, fantastic quality rosé wines can be found in all price brackets.
Australia is still one of the top producers, and the Hancock & Hancock McLaren Vale Grenache Rose 2018 is a great example of great value rosé. Produced by winemaker Chris Hancock with fruit sourced from his family-owned vineyard in the McLaren Vale, this wine boasts aromas of strawberries and grapefruit, as well as tart pomegranates and sour cherries on the palate.
Tallis Dookie Hills, also in Victoria, has a marvellous 2019 rosé that displays confectionery, strawberries and cream, melon, and rosewater on the nose, followed by touches of sweetness, berries, musk and a touch of crisp pink lady apples, ensuring it’s perfect for matching with light summer fare.
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Angove’s Nine Vines Grenache Shiraz Rosé displays a bit more complexity and spice, making it perfect for red drinkers looking for something chilled yet still complex. Expect a bright pink hue, and raspberry, strawberry, and cherry aromas as well as a lively pink hue and a cleansing acidity on the finish.
Not to be outdone by the Aussies, Amisfield’s Saignee Central Otago Rosé 2019 from New Zealand’s South Island is packed with summer fruit characters, including strawberries, melon, and lychee while exhibiting a bright and dry palate, while the Bladen Marlborough Pinot Rose 2019 is made in one of New Zealand’s top wine regions and is widely considered the country’s best rosé, with a pale onion skin hue, aromas of cherry soda and watermelon, and touches of strawberry leaf and fine tannins.
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