A rosé wine is a winemaking style that allows the juice to encounter the grape skins coloring the wine but not enough to produce a “red wine.” The pink color ranges from pale red onion to vivid dark berry color depending on the grape varieties used and the winemaking style.

There are three major ways to produce rosé wine: skin contact, saignée (French bleeding method of removing must in the early stage to impart more tannin and concentration) and blending (mixing red and white wine to impart color). They can also be made from a wide variety of grapes. The LDV Winery 2018 Rosé is produced from 100% Grenache in the French Provencal style – dry. Rosé can vary in sweetness, color, and can also be produced as a sparkling wine. 

At LDV Winery we let the Grenache juice stay in contact with the skins for 16 hours, resulting in a deep rose color. The grape must (i.e., skins, seeds, etc.) is then pressed and skins composted. If we were producing a Grenache, we would leave the grape must in contact with the skins throughout the fermentation process. LDV Winemaker Curt Dunham explains Rosé further in this short video.