Rose wine is a type of wine made from the alcoholic fermentation of red grapes. This type of wine may be produced through direct pressing or the saignée method. In direct pressing, the grapes will macerate (contact between grape juice and grape skins) to ensure the desired colour before or even during pressing.
The saignée method consists of removing grape juice from the vat where the red grapes have already been de-stemmed and crushed.
This saignée process also benefits the production of red wines as it improves the wine's colour/tannin concentration. After the saignée process, the rose wine ferments at a controlled temperature.
Rosé wines may have various types of colour, since this depends on the type of grape variety used and the time that the liquid/skin contact was made (maceration). Rose wines have shades ranging from pale salmon pink to less concentrated ruby red or orange tones.
Rose wines may have different types of sweetness, depending on the type of rose the winemaker wants. Rose wines may be dry rose wine, semi-sweet rose wine or sweet rose wine.
Rose verde wine is a Portuguese rose wine, which has this designation simply because it is produced in the Portuguese Vinho Verde Region, but it has nothing to do with being produced with "green grapes", it is just a way of characterising the origin of this type of rose, since the Vinho Verde region is a region with low average temperatures and high levels of precipitation.
There are those who think rose wine is a mixture of white wine and red wine, but they are wrong. Rose wine is nothing more than a wine made from red grapes, from direct pressing or the saignée method, and has the aromatic sensibility of a white wine and the texture of a light red wine.
Considering the type of event or the type of food you're going to have. Wines with lots of texture go with food with more texture, sweeter wines with food that is also sweeter, and this will be the most obvious and simplest way to choose.
Another technique also used is colour, a simple example is to pair salmon, which is a textured and fatty fish with a salmon-coloured rose wine, dry and with good freshness. You can find a variety of different roses in our online shop: some floral like our Touriga Nacional em Rosé from the Douro Valley, some more complex like our Rosé da Fitapreta from Alentejo, or even saline rose wine like our Rosé Vulcânico from Pico.
Rose wine harmonises with a wide range of food, from white meats or cold meats, fish, vegetables and even desserts if you opt for a sweet rose. Rose wines are clearly an 'all terrain' type of wine as they have the aromas and elegant fruit of white wines and the texture and tannins of red wines, the best of both worlds.
To buy rose wine, simply decide if its either for a meal or an event, because rose wine is a wine that can start as an aperitif to make a meal and finish it with dessert, or simply as an accompaniment to a good conversation.
Our Rose da Fitapreta is undoubtedly a good buy if you want a meal rose wine, sophisticated in aroma and with a medium texture, it pairs easily with spicy foods or meats of medium texture. If you are looking for a pool and lounge rose, we suggest Sexy Rose. If you really want to impress and add some aromatic richness, choose Touriga Nacional em Rose, the purest expression of Touriga Nacional.