15 Shades Of Rose

Everything’s coming up rosé, writes MAX ALLEN, as local winemakers broaden the spectrum of pink potential.

- Max Allen

Australia’s love affair with rosé shows no sign of waning – new pink wines are popping up all the time in bottle-shop fridges and on wine lists. We did a big rosé tasting only a couple of years ago, but since then the pink pool has grown so much that we thought we’d plunge back in.

More Australian winemakers than ever are jumping on the pale, dry rosé bandwagon, taking all kinds of red grapes – from pinot to shiraz to nebbiolo – and turning them into gentle-hued, perfumed and wonderfully savoury wines.

More imported rosés than ever are jostling for attention. Shipments to Australia of Provence rosé alone rose by 127 per cent last year, and you can now find rosés from every corner of the globe here, including Portugal, Turkey, Germany and Argentina.

A growing number of local winemakers, meanwhile, are expanding the whole concept of rosé, blurring the boundaries between dark-pink and light-red wines. Some do this by blending white grapes and red grapes, taking bizarre bedfellows such as cabernet and riesling, and fermenting them together with unexpectedly terrific results. Others are exploring the pink potential of pinot meunier and pinot gris. Both are dark-skinned grapes but you think of them as white-wine grapes because traditionally only their clear-coloured juice is fermented. If, however, the winemaker ferments them skins and all – like a red wine – gris and meunier can produce lovely deep rosé styles.

It’s a deep pool – pink wines now come in a deliciously diverse spectrum of colours and flavours, as you can see from the wines recommended here.

PINK AND LIGHT RED WINES THAT ARE BLENDS OF RED AND WHITE GRAPES

2017 Ochota Barrels Texture Like Sun Red, Adelaide Hills, $35