Rosé from the Moselle

The rosé from the Moselle is particularly popular in spring and summer. This applies to rosé wines in general, as they are usually light and fruity and are therefore particularly tasty. On warm days, these wines are preferred to heavy red or white wines and have established themselves as companions for barbecues, with light spokes or as an aperitif. Rosé is currently very much in vogue and is in high demand worldwide. This is also due to prominent ambassadors who cooperate with wineries, which we will come back to later.

How is rosé wine defined?
At first glance, the color might be definition enough. But it is not that simple after all, because there are precise guidelines as to which wine may and may not be called "rosé". The most important criterion here is that only red grapes may be used for a rosé. These are vinified like white wines and are therefore only briefly on the mash before they are pressed.

Where does the rosé get its beautiful color from?
The color is in the grape skin and the color intensity is determined by the length of the mashing time. To put it simply: when the harvested grapes lie together for a long time and are already lightly pressed in vats, more and more color is loosened from the berry skin, which turns into the juice. The longer the mashing time, the stronger the color. The mashing time for rosé is therefore significantly shorter than for red wine and is often only a few hours.

Which grape varieties is rosé made from?
In principle, rosé can be made from all red grapes. At the international level, however, mostly grape varieties such as Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre are used. If we look to Germany, the rosé in this country is made from local varieties such as Lemberger, Dornfelder and Pinot Noir. At the Moselle, it is mainly the Dornfelder and now and then also Pinot Noir, the latter often being vinified as a red wine.

Difference between Rotling, Weißherbst and Rosé
First, briefly, about the greatest similarities: color, lightness & fruit. This is why these three variants are also grouped under "rosé wine" in our wine shop. From a technical point of view, however, a distinction is made as follows:

Rosé: Must be made from red grapes, but different grape varieties can be blended into a so-called cuvée.

Weißherbst: Must be made from red grapes of a single grape variety and is therefore varietal.

Rotling: Those wines are a blend of white and red grapes, which are pressed together.

What is the significance of rosé wine nowadays?
Compared to red wine and white wine, rosé wine plays a smaller role in terms of quantity in Germany. If you look at the 2019 quality wine test in the German wine statistics, rosé has a share of 11.8% and 895,000 hl. The volume development since 2015 has also been fairly constant. Nevertheless, as mentioned at the beginning, one can say that rosé is trendy. Especially internationally, the demand in the premium rosé segment has grown strongly, which is partly due to collaborations or own creations of celebrities like Kylie Minogue and the Jolie / Pitt couple.

Sources:
2020 / 2021 - Deutscher Wein Statistik
Deutsches Weingesetz
https://glossar.wein.plus/rose
https://www.deutscheweine.de/wissen/wein-mehr/rose/