CENTRE COUNTY — Summer might be coming to a close, but that doesn’t need to mean the end of rosé season.
Rosé wine has a long history, dating back to ancient times when it was one of the earliest styles of wine produced. The method of making rosé involves limiting the contact time between the grape skins and juice, which gives the wine its characteristic pink color. This is in contrast to white winemaking that removes the skins from the grapes before it is made, and red wine making that leaves the skins on for an extended period of time to extract the color and tannins found in the skins.
Rosé production has evolved significantly over the centuries, with modern winemakers fine-tuning techniques to create a diverse range of styles, from dry and crisp to sweet and fruity. It has also experienced trend cycles. While sweet, more pigmented rosés were popular in the ’80s and ’90s, more recently, trends have leaned towards being quite pale or almost translucent like a white wine.
While Provence, France, is the leader in rosé in the wine industry — creating pale, delicate pink rosés with a light flavor profile that features notes of fresh berries, citrus and a hint of minerality — and majorly impacting the way in which other winemakers around the world produce their rosés, one style of rosé wine goes against the grain. And it happens to be the perfect sip to take into the fall.
Rosé d’Anjou comes from the Anjou region in the Loire Valley of France. This style of wine is known for producing fruity and slightly sweet rosé wines. Because of the bold, juicy palate, a Rosé d’Anjou tends to feel fuller in the mouth than the trendy light rosés, which helps it transition into the autumn months. The fruit flavor also gives the profile of being sweeter on the palate without having the syrupy effect of a sweet wine.
Barton & Guestier’s Rosé d’Anjou retails at $15 and can be found at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits store at 127 Southridge Plaza. It is made from the grape variety gamay, which tends to have red fruit notes, like strawberry, raspberry and cherry, and candy notes, like bubble gum and Twizzlers. It pairs well with sushi and salad, or if you’re looking for a more fall-themed menu, pork dishes, turkey or duck, squash-based dishes or roasted vegetables and stuffing.
So as the leaves start to turn, give a glass of Rosé d’Anjou a try — it’s proof that you can “rosé all day” no matter the season.
