Rosé

Rosé champagnes have a long and eventful history. Rosé wines have been known for many centuries. Wines from Champagne, known and revered as Vin Gris in the 16th century, were also pink-coloured drinks. Monks such as Perignon and Oudart invested all their talents to ultimately successfully press white wines from blue grapes. Surely these monks would have been horrified to learn that the famous widow Clicquot would later deliberately produce pink-coloured wines. Champagne successfully introduced in 1777.

As a result, rosé champagnes have experienced fluctuating popularity to this day. Around 1850, for example, they were very popular, after which their popularity declined until they became very popular again around 1900. At that time, they were often referred to as Oeil de Perdrix (eye of the partridge). Today, rosé has a relatively small but loyal following among connoisseurs (only around 3% of the champagnes produced today are rosé champagnes). It is particularly popular among women, especially as rosé is considered the colour of love and innocence and also has a gentle and warming effect. A rosé is a first-class complement to meat dishes, both in terms of colour and taste.

One reason why rosé champagnes are ignored by some connoisseurs - especially in the USA - is due to a misconception about their colour: This is because they have long been aware of countless cheap, pink-coloured sparkling wines, most of which are characterised by an unpleasantly sweet note.

Rosé champagnes, on the other hand, are not sweet, but dry sparkling wines, which, as first-class, full-bodied champagnes, are not inferior to champagnes of any other colour. On average, rosé champagnes are also slightly more expensive than their white counterparts. Many champagne houses have a rosé in their range.

The production of rosé champagnes is somewhat more complex than that of standard champagnes. The seductive colour is achieved either through elaborate maceration or the short-term soaking of the skin of the blue grapes in the must (method known as 'saignée') or through the qualified addition of red wines. The pink colour of the house brand champagnes created in this way must match exactly from year to year.

 

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