California Rosé

With hues ranging from pale salmon to deep ruby, California rosé wines are made in a variety of styles. During the past decade, dry rosé has exploded in popularity in the United States, as well as in export markets such as the U.K. and Canada. Off-dry and sweet styles are also labeled as blanc de noir, vin gris or simply blush.

Winemakers use a wide range of red grapes to produce rosé. Deeply colored grape skins are allowed only brief contact (generally an average of six to 24 hours) with the clear juice after crushing to produce a light crimson hue. Another technique, the saignée method, involves “bleeding” off some of the juice during red wine production to make a rosé wine. Both rosé and blush wines are then made like white wines.