I may change my views on Rosé Wine

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D47 Fermented it down to .994 - ABV 15%. Great aroma & taste...pre-bulk aging, oaking & clarifying.



Cheers!
 

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So I'm curious.....what tweaks folks have made to their Rose´(s)?
 
Isn’t White Zinfandel actually a Rose? I got a request to make a Rose and I can get a bucket for a great price in the fall. I suspect fermented dry, it should be palatable.
 
Isn’t White Zinfandel actually a Rose? I got a request to make a Rose and I can get a bucket for a great price in the fall. I suspect fermented dry, it should be palatable.
Yep...though sweet!
 
So I'm curious.....what tweaks folks have made to their Rose´(s)?
None really. I wouldn’t call them ‘tweaks’ but I did do some things to guide it along. But really ust trying not to screw it up!

I just bottled my first 2 from last year. First one I added acid upfront. Bumped ph to about 3.4. Sat for a day, racked off the sediment then Fermented dry w/ d47. From malbec grapes pressed right after crush. accidentally went thru MLf.

second one even less interference. Cab grapes. Bled the juice right after crush. Racked after a day. Then Left as is. Fermented with d47. Stopped short of dry at 1.003. So I have 1 dry and 1 sweet. Added lysozyme to cab preventing mlf. Oh and Both rosé’s i did cold stabilize for 3 weeks over the winter.
 
I plan to oak my next batch of RJS Cru International Rosé. That wine is more like Rhône Valley Rosé which is often oaked
 
@Ajmassa, is MLF not suggested for rose’s?
Im still super green regarding rosé and only just bottled my 1st attempts last week. I’m pretty sure it’s a tossup tho. Depending on the specific grapes sometimes it might benefit and sometimes not. Kinda like how winemakers will make decisions based off the taste of the unfermented juice, there’s likely lots of factors at play regarding this that are outta my pay grade.
Since I don’t feel advanced enough to make judgement calls like that I just defaulted to treating it as if they were white wines. But the wine gods had other plans. Is what it is. I have no real way to know if it hurt the wine or benefited it. But I can say I’m happy with the final product despite the mlf.
 
Im still super green regarding rosé and only just bottled my 1st attempts last week. I’m pretty sure it’s a tossup tho. Depending on the specific grapes sometimes it might benefit and sometimes not. Kinda like how winemakers will make decisions based off the taste of the unfermented juice, there’s likely lots of factors at play regarding this that are outta my pay grade.
Since I don’t feel advanced enough to make judgement calls like that I just defaulted to treating it as if they were white wines. But the wine gods had other plans. Is what it is. I have no real way to know if it hurt the wine or benefited it. But I can say I’m happy with the final product despite the mlf.

Agree, and same here. My 2020 Barbera Rose when completely fermented, tasted like green apples and was good but very acidic. That's the nature of Barbera. So I elected to do MLF and it came out great. The Mourvedre Rose I made in 2019 went through unintentional MLF and that's likely the norm unless you use lysozyme and prevent it.

I had planned not to do MLF and had lysozyme ready and waiting, but when I tasted that malic acid, I know it was MLF time. The end result has been a real hit with friends and family. I wish I made more than 4 cases!

I've made a Rose only 2 years, so don't have a whole ton of experience, but both years, the wine went through MLF, one intentional, and one not. If I had a high pH wine at the end of fermentation, I'd likely Lysozyme it and prevent MLF.
 
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Gonna use this 1st Rose (SG .994) as an experiment broken into 3 flavor profiles:

10bottles as is right from the Speidel

10bottles with glycerin added at rate of 1oz/gal

8-10bottles with glycerin + bit of liquid oak extract (chosen to save time)

Then we'll be doing a tasting of all 3 to get a winner.

Will report back...

Cheers!
 
Post cold crashing it & racking....sample has a great aroma - bit of berry-ness - and tastes smooth & flavorful.

Gonna let it get back to room temp for a few days & once my clear Bordeaux style bottles arrive from Amazon....implement my plan ✌
 

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None really. I wouldn’t call them ‘tweaks’ but I did do some things to guide it along. But really ust trying not to screw it up!

I just bottled my first 2 from last year. First one I added acid upfront. Bumped ph to about 3.4. Sat for a day, racked off the sediment then Fermented dry w/ d47. From malbec grapes pressed right after crush. accidentally went thru MLf.

second one even less interference. Cab grapes. Bled the juice right after crush. Racked after a day. Then Left as is. Fermented with d47. Stopped short of dry at 1.003. So I have 1 dry and 1 sweet. Added lysozyme to cab preventing mlf. Oh and Both rosé’s i did cold stabilize for 3 weeks over the winter.
was the ph still 3.4 post-fermentation?

Cheers!
 
was the ph still 3.4 post-fermentation?

Cheers!
Nope. Good question. It crept up a bit like you correctly insinuated. Bumped to 3.4 from 3.65 or something. Came in at 3.48 post AF. Then eventually 3.52. (Accidental mlf).
I wanted to target 3.3 pre fermentation to eventually land in the 3.4 range- as I was advised was an ideal ph for a nice crisp summer rosé. But I was careful not to overshoot or have such a drastic adjustment. 3.4 felt good enough. Like- “ok I’m close to my target and I didn’t screw it up. Leaving it be now”.
 
Did a small sample bottling of my Zinfadel Rose......sitting next to Beringer White Zin (mom's fav -- till she tries mine...backsweetened by the glass 4 her)
 

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Some might call my latest blend a 'buggers muddle' but the outcome is far from it. I had so many pears from my trees this year that I played with numerous blending options. i made a Rosé using 90% pear wine (11.5% abv) and 10% Sangiovese. The Sangiovese I made back in 2016. In my trials I found it softened and extended the flavour profile. If I were to repeat the exercise I’d run a trial at 5% Sangiovese - if only to produce more of a pink colour in the final blend. As at 10% it leans slightly towards a red hue. For those interested- the pH of this blend was 3.45
 
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Some might call my latest blend a 'buggers muddle' but the outcome is far from it. I had so many pears from my trees this year that I played with numerous blending options. i made a Rosé using 90% pear wine (11.5% abv) and 10% Sangiovese. The Sangiovese I made back in 2016. In my trials I found it softened and extended the flavour profile. If I were to repeat the exercise I’d run a trial at 5% Sangiovese - if only to produce more of a pink colour in the final blend. As at 10% it leans slightly towards a red hue. For those interested- the pH of this blend was 3.45
Never had heard of trying this combo before--I like your "think different" approach.
 
Gonna use this 1st Rose (SG .994) as an experiment broken into 3 flavor profiles:

10bottles as is right from the Speidel

10bottles with glycerin added at rate of 1oz/gal

8-10bottles with glycerin + bit of liquid oak extract (chosen to save time)

Then we'll be doing a tasting of all 3 to get a winner.

Will report back...

Cheers!
Did some small sampling of each tossed into an 18oz swing top bottle & chilled in fridge:

In the order of how much they were liked:

#1 - w/glycerin added at ratio of 1oz/gal... didn't change the great flavor profile & gave it better mouth feel.

#2 - as is. Great taste & aroma with just a slight bite...theres a slight berry-ness to the aroma.

#3 - liquid oak extract added - the modified flavor profile was not enjoyed much...improved mouth feel over "as is". Won't be using this for this vino.

Results indicate I'm gonna be adding 1oz glycerin per gal into bulk prior to bottling.

Cheers!
 
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