WineGuessrWine style
What is rosé wine?
Rosé wine is pink wine usually made by leaving the skins of dark grapes in contact with the juice for a short time, typically two to twenty hours, before fermenting it like a white wine. France is the largest supplier, led by Provence and the all-rosé Tavel appellation.
| Serving temperature | 10–12 °C |
|---|---|
| Wines on WineGuessr | 2, from 1 country |
How it is made
There are three ways to make rosé. The most common is short skin contact: dark grapes are crushed and the skins stay in the juice for typically two to twenty hours, long enough to give a pink colour, before the juice is drained off and fermented like a white wine. The saignée (bleeding) method draws off some pink juice early in red winemaking, which both makes a rosé and concentrates the remaining red. The third method, blending red wine into white, is uncommon and discouraged in most regions; in France it is forbidden by law except in Champagne, where rosé Champagne is often made this way. See how wine is made for the steps shared with red and white wine.
Main styles and grapes
Rosé ranges from pale and dry to deeper-coloured and sweet styles, and most is meant to be drunk young. The main grapes are those of southern France: Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. In Provence, rosé makes up between half and almost two thirds of all wine produced, and Tavel in the Rhône Valley is the only appellation where rosé is the only permitted style. Sweeter styles have been huge commercial successes: Portugal's Mateus and Lancers, lightly sparkling and sweet, dominated markets after the Second World War, and California's White Zinfandel, made from Zinfandel, began with a stuck fermentation in 1975.
Famous examples
The best-known rosés come from France, the world's largest rosé supplier. Côtes de Provence makes pale, dry rosé from grapes such as Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah, and rosé is the main wine of Provence. Tavel in the southern Rhône makes only rosé, from Grenache, Cinsault and other Rhône grapes. Rosé Champagne is the one French wine that may be coloured by blending red and white wine, and Champagne Grand Cru villages such as Bouzy grow the Pinot Noir it needs. Outside France, Portugal's Mateus and California's White Zinfandel were major commercial successes in the 20th century, and our sparkling wine and red wine pages cover the methods rosé shares with them.
Serving and food
Rosé is served chilled. Standard serving tables put Provence rosé at about 10–12 °C, the same range as light-bodied reds such as Beaujolais, and slightly warmer than sparkling and sweet wines at 6–10 °C. A cooler temperature emphasises acidity and freshness, while a slightly warmer one brings out aroma, which suits fuller rosés such as Tavel. Because rosé spends little time on the grape skins, it extracts fewer of the phenolic compounds that help red wine age, so most rosés have a short shelf life and are best drunk soon after release rather than cellared.
Rosé wine on the map (2)
Rosé wine: questions and answers
How is rosé made?
Rosé is usually made by leaving the skins of dark grapes in the juice for about two to twenty hours, then fermenting the pink juice like a white wine. It can also be made by the saignée method or, rarely, by blending red and white wine.
Is rosé a mix of red and white wine?
Usually not. In France, blending red and white wine to make rosé is forbidden except in Champagne; most rosé gets its colour from brief contact with dark grape skins.
What grapes are used for rosé?
The classic rosé grapes are Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre, the grapes of Provence and the southern Rhône. Rosé can be made from many dark-skinned grapes, and White Zinfandel is a rosé made from Zinfandel.
Where does the best rosé come from?
Provence in southern France is the most famous rosé region, where rosé is half to almost two thirds of all wine made. Tavel in the Rhône Valley is the only French appellation that makes nothing but rosé.
Can you age rosé wine?
Most rosé should be drunk young. Its short skin contact gives it fewer phenolic compounds than red wine, so it has a shorter shelf life and is best soon after release.
Other wine styles
All wine styles →Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org
Last reviewed October 2026.