Despite their similar pink hues, blush wine and rosé are distinct entities. Exploring their differences reveals various nuanced aspects, such as their production methods, origins, and pricing.

Rosé is produced using red grape varieties like grenache, pinot noir, and sangiovese, often mixed with mourvèdre or cinsault. After pressing these grapes, their skins are left in contact with the juice briefly to impart the signature color of rosé. In contrast, robust red wines such as cabernet sauvignon and syrah undergo a prolonged maceration period to develop a deeper hue. Rosé production entails a shorter maceration period. (Food-friendly orange wine, interestingly, is made similarly to red or rosé by allowing skins to remain in contact with the juice but uses white wine grapes). The final product is light, fresh, and typically dry, making rosé an excellent base for spicier profiles.

Rosé’s history can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, although it might seem like a recent addition to wine menus only from the last decade or so. A 2021 report by bw166 showed that the volume of rosé sales surged by 1433% between 2010 and 2020, according to an article by Forbes.

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Gillian Mosher, serving as the Senior Director of Global Corporate Communications at NielsonIQ, elucidated the nuances of blush wine in an interview with Forbes. She explained, “Blush wines encompass all pink wines, ranging from budget-friendly boxed white zinfandel to more upscale selections. Rosé, often portrayed as more premium, always includes ‘rosé’ on its label.” Similarities between rosé and other blush wines include their light, crisp qualities, making them ideal for summer or pairing with brunch. However, unlike standard blush wines, rosé is primarily a higher-quality wine, traditionally cultivated and processed in historical wine regions like Provence.

To maintain economical pricing, generic blush wines are generally produced on a large scale. Nonetheless, this does not imply that they lack interest or that their origins are not intriguing. The origin of inexpensive, sweet blush wine traces back to California when, in 1975, an unintended sweet variant of white zinfandel, resulting from incomplete fermentation, was marketed by the Sutter Home Winery in Napa Valley. This product, sweeter and less alcoholic, was sold at a low price, which was either celebrated or criticized by wine consumers. In recent times, some wineries in the New World are dedicating efforts to refine white zinfandel’s image, offering several blush wines other than rosé that are worth sampling. The fundamental lesson here is straightforward: while all rosés can be classified as blush wines, not all blush wines qualify as rosés — yet, both types deserve exploration for their delightful tasting experiences.

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