By Ray Spaziani
Wine Talk
Ray Spaziani
The Phoenicians brought grapes from Greece to the south of France about 500 BC. The wines they produced were blends of white and red grapes. They were light in color and easy drinking. They became popular. When the Romans took over, they had heard about the pink wines of southern France and used their trade networks to make them popular all around the Mediterranean. The south of France gained a reputation for making the best rosé. This reputation still exists today.
During the Middle Ages in the Bordeaux region, they made a violet-colored rosé. This was known as claret, which in Latin means “clarity.” This was popular in France, and when the English took over the region it became the wine of England. Claret stayed the most popular wine in England until the 20th century.
Around the end of the Second World War, Mateus and Lancers were brought in from Portugal. These wines became a success in that they were easy drinking and slightly sweet. They were pink wines and Americans thought of this as rosé. They were inexpensive as well, and that helped. These wines stayed popular through the 1950s, and they continue to be in Europe today.
However, stateside the novelty wore off and sweet and cheap was no longer in vogue. Rosé was not considered to be a real wine and it lost its popularity.
Then in the middle 1970s, Bob Trinchero of Sutter Home Winery had a problem. While making his Zinfandel he had a suck fermentation. This caused his zin to be light and sweet. He tried to fix it, but the wine would not continue to ferment. He had a lot of money tied up in his Zinfandel. He bottled it and called it White Zinfandel. He hoped someone would buy it. The results were fantastic. Trinchero had opened the floodgates. Over the next 15 years, White Zinfandel became one of the most popular wines in the country.
The greatest rosé is still made in the south of France. One of my favorites is Whispering Angel Côtes de Provence. At $23 it is wonderfully balanced with a great bouquet and a wonderful finish. All the rosés from Provence are good. Canada and the state of Washington are catching up too. Try some great rosé. It’s the wine of summer.
Ray Spaziani is the chapter director of the New Haven chapter of the American Wine Society. He is on the tasting panels of Winemaker Magazine and Amate del Vino and is a certified wine educator and award-winning home winemaker. Email Ray with your wine questions or activities at realestatepro1000@gmail.com.