SUB-ZERO WINE BLOG

I often find myself defending rosé Champagnes whenever I pour the because people expect them to be sweet, pink swill. Trust me, I assure them, this pink bubbly is not the stuff your grandma used to sip while watching Lawrence Welk. We’re talking Champagne that’s better than ordinary Champagne. We’re talking Champagne that has the lightness and elegance of Champagne but the body and character of red wine. We’re talking Champagne for toasting your Wedding, your Valentine or Tuesday night take-out—Champagne that can stand up to any food. How’s that for consolidating expectations?

Before you say you don’t like pink wines, hear me out. I, too, have been disappointed by candy-sweet “blush” wines that look far better than they taste. But rosé Champagnes are an entity unto themselves, balancing the complexity that comes from aging the wines with the freshness that makes Champagne unique. They as much about maturity as they are structure, fruitiness, creaminess, lightness and, as the French say, delicatesse, a word that covers it all.

Rosé Champagne’s beautiful color (ranging from pale onion skin to topaz, copper, salmon, and rosy pink) comes from adding red grape skins to the blend, or by introducing Pinot Noir red wine to the blend before the wine is fermented for the second time in the bottle, giving it those magical bubbles. Therefore, rosés taste the most like red wine—because they actually contain some red wine—with red berry fruit flavors and tannins firm enough to stand up to red meat.

All of which gives neophytes—or dubious still-wine lovers—the opportunity to recognize the power of Pinot Noir through the color and aroma. This is why I treat rosé like a sparkling Pinot Noir, able to stand up to practically any food, with the added dimension of effervescence, which works beautifully with even spicy flavors such as those found in Thai and Szechuan Chinese dishes—perfect for ordering in.