It's Time To R.A.D.!

Summer is suddenly upon us and in the world of wine it means it's time to R.A.D. Chances are if you're reading this, you are pretty familiar with this catchphrase "rosé all day" (and in our parlance, R.A.D. for short). If not, well, it is best to familiarize yourself because the pink wine is going to be flowing in abundance now that backyard barbeques, pool lounging, beach outings and other related outdoor excursions are a common occurrence. Simply put, rosé is the quintessential summer wine because it is so easily chuggable. When properly chilled, is the perfect respite from a sweltering summer day.

Although you're probably already aware, there is no single grape varietal that produces rosé as you know it. Instead, rosé can be crafted from a plethora of red wine grapes. Basically, any red grape varietal can yield a rosé wine. Rosé is the result of a winemaking style and there are two main ways to go about creating it: the saignée method and the intentional style. Saignée (saun-yay) is a French term that means "to bleed". Essentially winemakers creating a saignée start by making a red wine and removing excess juice to create a wine that is more concentrated in color, tannins and flavor. The juice that has been bled-off is a byproduct of the red wine, and instead of dumping it down a drain, winemakers will bottle it as a standalone wine. Voilà! You have rosé.

The other main method of making rosé is done intentionally. Instead of bleeding-off excess juice, fruit is picked with the notion of making a rosé purposely. These grapes are generally picked earlier in the harvest than the other fruit to impart a high level of acidity and brightness to the finished wine. When making the wine itself the juice has a very limited contact with the grape skins, also known as maceration, for only a few hours. The result is a wine that is often times very light in color with a slight to heavy pinkish hue. If you have a darker rosé, you can safely assume that it had longer maceration time. 

Jump in: Rosé season is here!

All in all, there is no "right" way to make a rosé. It really just comes down to personal preference for the winemaker and the style that you're trying to achieve. For us at Ricci Vineyards, we make an intentional rosé with our Pinot Noir grapes. If you've ever had the chance to try it, you'll probably agree that our rosé explodes with awesome notes of strawberry, watermelon and other bright red fruits. If you haven't had the chance to try it yet, well, this just might be your opportunity. Through 6/17/21 we are offering a 20% case discount to anyone that would like to order. We feel that this deal is only appropriate to celebrate the oncoming blistering summer heat. Cheers, enjoy, and here's to R.A.D.!