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What's the difference
between red wine, white wine and rosé wines?
Obviously the color! But what you may not know
is what makes these wines different colors? Is
it the grapes - how they're made - and what
gives them different characteristics? We
highlight the causes behind the different color
and what it means for how the wines taste.
What may not be a surprise is that red grapes
make red wines and white wines make white
wines. What you may not know is that white
wines can also be made from red grapes, so the
division isn't as clear as it appears on the
surface. Grape juice is actually colorless, so
the color compounds that produce the spectrum
of white to pink to red is driven by how much
contact the fermenting wine is allowed to have
with the grape skins, where all the darkly
colored anthocyan pigments are
found.
What Makes Red Wines
Red?
Red wines become red because the
fermenting juice is left in contact with the
skins. In the production of red wines, rather
than putting the berries through a press to
remove the juice from the skins right away, the
berries instead are crushed, breaking the
skin to release the juice, which
is fermented all together. The
alcohol then acts as a solvent extracting the
darkly colored anthocyan pigments out of the
skins, turning the juice red. In addition
to color compounds, the wine also gains other
flavors and tannins from the skins. Tannins are
flavorless, but add to the wine's body in
addition to a slight astringent
bitterness.
What Makes White Wines
White?
White wines, on the other hand,
can be made either from white grapes or from
red grapes. In both cases, the grapes are
pressed right after harvest so there is minimal
contact between skins and juice. Generally, few
still white wines are made using red grapes
although it is possible, but this is a common
practice in the production of sparkling wines.
Those bottled as 'blanc de rouges' (which
translates to 'white from red') are made from
made red grapes, such as Pinot Noir. This
style of sparkling wine will display
more body and more red-berry flavor than a
'blanc de blancs' made from white grapes, which
will be more delicate and lighter in
body.
What Makes Rosé
Wine Pink?
Rosé wine is a middle
ground between white wine and red wine. Made
from red grapes, the wine is left to have some
contact with the skins so it can absorb a bit
of color but the skins are pressed off well
before fermentation has completed. Typically, a
rosé wine will be left on the skins between a
few hours, for a light style with a pale salmon
hue, to up to 24 hours, where it develops a
richer, strawberry light red tint. The more
contact allowed and the darker the wine, the
more it will show the characteristics of a red
wine in body, flavor as well as tannin
structure.
A White Wine that Tastes Like Red
Wine?
I can't say that I've had the
opportunity to try such a wine myself, but I
have read that a white wine made like a red
wine - where the white grape skins are left in
contact with the juice all the way through
fermentation - tastes indistinguishable from a
red wine. While the white wine skins don't
contain the dark pigments found in red wines,
they would contribute the same extra body,
flavor compounds and tannins that red grape
skins add to red wine. Maybe some day an
experimental wine producer will start making a
white wine this way - kind of makes you wonder
what a 'real' Chardonnay would taste like!
Next Article:
Uncommon Red Wine Varieties
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