Rose is on a roll - Wine Wednesday

Wednesday 18 OCT  |  5.30 pm to 7 pm.

We’ve got a bit of a thing for a pink drink here at Regional Wines this week and
we’re going to crack open three of them tomorrow night at our new weekly casual
tasting, Wine Wednesday, at Regional Wines from 5.30 pm to 7 pm.

Our resident wine whizzes will guide you through a trio of pink drinks and explain the
differences in style and why colour is not an indication of dryness – or otherwise.

Speaking of which, rosé – or pink wine – can be made from any red grape and can
even be made by blending red and white wine together, which is standard practice in
France’s Champagne region for the production of the world’s highest priced pink
sparkling wine. Unusual as that sounds (and it’s another story, which we can revisit
over the upcoming festive silly season), most New Zealand rosé is made from Pinot
Noir – for obvious reasons.

Pinot is the most widely planted red grape and most widely produced red wine in this
country. This means that rosé tends to be produced in two main ways in New
Zealand.

Firstly, it can be made as an intentional wine where red grapes are pressed and
given anything from a few hours to a few days of skin contact so that the colour adds
a light tinge to the wine.

Secondly – and this is more common – rosé is made using a method called saigneé
- French for ‘bleeding’.

This refers to making pink wine from red wine (in this case, Pinot Noir) while the wine
is still fermenting in tank – by bleeding off a little of the fermenting juice, The wine
that remains in the tank (most of it) can gain a more intense colour and flavour while
a fresh, light pink wine can be made at the same time. Hey presto – rosé.

Come along and check out this trio tomorrow at 5.30pm at Regional Wines in
Wellington – there’s no need to book… come and check out these pink drinks with
us for $5 at the door.

We hope to see you there.

Pink drinks at Wine Wednesday…

2016 Whitehaven Rosé $17.99

2016 Eradus Rosé $18.99

2017 Haha Rosé $14.99