Rosé is wine made from red grapes whose skins stay in the juice for a short time, often a few hours, so the wine takes on only a little color. The pigments sit in the grape skins, and the juice inside is colorless. The producer then separates the pink juice from the skins and ferments it.
Rosé ranges from the pale wines of Provence to the cherry pink of Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, and from dry to sweet. In the European Union, a still rosé without a protected origin cannot be made by mixing red and white wine.
Provence: Bandol
Abruzzo: Montepulciano
Navarra: Garnacha
How rosé is made
Producers use three methods. The Provence wine council names the first two as the main techniques in Provence.
- Direct press
- The producer presses whole or destemmed red grapes without soaking them first. The press runs slowly, so the skins give the juice a light color, and the juice goes straight into fermentation. Direct-press rosés tend to be lighter in color than skin-maceration rosés.
- Skin maceration
- The crushed grapes soak with their skins in a tank, in Provence for 2 to 20 hours at 61 to 68°F (16 to 20°C). When the juice reaches the color the winemaker wants, the grapes are pressed. The cool temperature delays fermentation, which is why the Provence wine council calls this cold skin maceration. The longer the skins steep, the darker the wine.
- Saignée
- Saignée is French for bleeding. The producer starts a red wine, then draws off about 5 to 15% of the juice after a few hours and ferments it as rosé. The red wine left in the tank has more skins per liter of juice, which can give it more concentrated flavor and color. In Navarra, Spain, the technique is called sangrado.
- Blending red and white wine
- EU law does not allow a rosé to be made by mixing a white and a red wine that have no protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI). The rule exempts wine made for sparkling and semi-sparkling wine. Wine Spectator calls blending the least desirable method for still rosé.
The color depends on how long the skins and juice stay in contact and at what temperature, on the method, and on the grape. Only the skins of red grapes contain color pigments, called anthocyanins.
Rosé in EU wine law
Two EU regulations set rules that apply to rosé.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column
| Rule | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Blending | A white wine and a red wine without a PDO or PGI cannot be blended into a rosé. Wine made for sparkling or semi-sparkling wine is exempt. |
| Dry | Up to 4 grams of sugar per liter, or up to 9 if the total acidity is no more than 2 grams per liter below the sugar |
| Medium dry | Up to 12 grams per liter, or up to 18 if the total acidity is no more than 10 grams per liter below the sugar |
| Medium sweet | Up to 45 grams per liter |
| Sweet | At least 45 grams per liter |
| Sulfur dioxide limit | 200 mg per liter for rosé and white wine, 150 for red. With 5 grams of sugar per liter or more: 250 for rosé and white, 200 for red. |
The blending and sulfur rules come from Regulation (EU) 2019/934. The sugar terms come from Regulation (EU) 2019/33 and apply to wines other than sparkling wine.
Where rosé comes from
- Provence, France
- About 9 in 10 bottles of Provence AOP wine are rosé, every year for more than 10 years, according to the Provence wine council. Côtes de Provence rosé is made mainly from Grenache, Cinsaut, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Tibouren, and France’s appellation authority, INAO, describes its color as pale pink.
- Tavel, France
- Tavel is a rosé from a blend of grapes based on Grenache, made about 9 miles (15 km) northwest of Avignon in the Rhône Valley. The appellation dates from 1936, and INAO calls it the first recognized rosé of France.
- Abruzzo, Italy
- Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is a rosé appellation (DOC) made from at least 85% Montepulciano. Its rules set the color as cherry pink, lighter or deeper.
- Navarra, Spain
- Producers in Navarra use saignée for top rosés, called rosado in Spanish. There the method is called sangrado.
- Champagne, France
- Rosé Champagne is made two ways. Blended rosé adds 5 to 20% red wine to white wine. Macerated rosé leaves the juice of black grapes on the skins for 36 hours, or 8 to 12 hours for a saignée rosé.
- California, United States
- Bob Trinchero created white Zinfandel at Sutter Home in the early 1970s. A batch stopped fermenting before all the sugar turned to alcohol, so it stayed a little sweet, and he bottled it as it was. By 1987 it was the best-selling premium wine in the United States.
What rosé tastes like
These four notes come up more than any others across the rosé we carry.
Wild strawberry
Small, tart red fruit. The note listed most often on our rosés
Raspberry
Red berry fruit, the second most common note
White pepper
A spice note, the most common one that is not a fruit
Cherry
Red cherry fruit
INAO describes Côtes de Provence rosé as fruity, with white fruit and citrus, or floral, often with mineral notes. It describes young Tavel as red fruit or banana, with licorice, herbs, flint and spice appearing with age.
How to serve rosé
- Serve it cold, at 46 to 50°F (8 to 10°C), the range the Provence wine council gives for Provence rosé.
- Give the bottle 2 to 3 hours in the fridge. At the table, keep it in a bucket of ice and water.
- Skip the ice cubes. The Provence wine council advises against them.
- Pair it with seafood, fish, poultry, vegetable dishes or cheese, the matches the Provence wine council suggests.
The Provence wine council says older vintages of rosé can be good. With age, the color moves from bright pink toward salmon, and spicy, floral or ripe fruit notes join the fruit. INAO says Tavel can be drunk young or from old vintages.
Common questions about rosé wine
- What is rosé wine?
- Wine made from red grapes with a short time on the skins, often a few hours, so it takes on a little color. The juice then ferments without the skins.
- Is rosé a mix of red and white wine?
- Usually not. EU law does not allow a still rosé without a protected origin to be made by mixing red and white wine. Sparkling wine is exempt, and Champagne allows blended rosé made with 5 to 20% red wine.
- Is rosé sweet?
- Rosé can be dry, medium dry, medium sweet or sweet. On an EU label, dry means up to 4 grams of sugar per liter, or up to 9 grams when the wine has enough acidity.
- What grapes are used to make rosé?
- Rosé is made from red grapes. Côtes de Provence uses mainly Grenache, Cinsaut, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Tibouren. Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is at least 85% Montepulciano. Tavel is a blend based on Grenache.
- What is saignée rosé?
- A rosé made from juice drawn off a tank of red grapes after a few hours, about 5 to 15% of it. The red wine left in the tank can come out more concentrated.
- What temperature should rosé be served at?
- 46 to 50°F (8 to 10°C), the range the Provence wine council gives for Provence rosé. That takes 2 to 3 hours in the fridge.
- Can rosé age?
- Some can. The Provence wine council says older vintages can be good, with the color moving toward salmon, and INAO says Tavel can be drunk from old vintages.
Sources
- EU: Delegated Regulation 2019/934, Articles 7 and 8, Annex I
- EU: Delegated Regulation 2019/33, Annex III
- Vins de Provence: elaboration of rosé
- Vins de Provence: myth busters about rosé wines
- Vins de Provence: the 5 rules of a rosé aperitif
- Vins de Provence: key figures 2025 (French)
- INAO: Côtes de Provence rosé (French)
- INAO: Tavel (French)
- Regione Abruzzo: Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC production rules (Italian)
- Comité Champagne: Champagne rosé
- Decanter: what does saignée mean in rosé wine?
- Wine Spectator: how is rosé wine made?
- Wine Spectator: was white Zinfandel first made by accident?
Keep reading
The saignée guide explains the bleeding method in more detail. The rosé collection lists every rosé we carry.
Shop rosé wine Read the saignée guide Read the orange wine guide
