Sunday, April 23, 2006
Corsica's rosé wines
Rosé wines are becoming increasingly popular at the moment. In 2004 the consumption of rosé consumed by Britons increased by 8 million litres, and it seems to have lost its image as a soft option for people who can't decide whether to drink white or red.
I doubt if the amount of Corsican rosé drunk on the island itself has gone up much - the local people seem to drink it all the time in preference to red and white. I'm not sure why, but there seems to be something irresistible in a cold glass of rosé gris as the Corsican sun is setting. Although I have drunk some wonderful reds and some very superior whites, I drink more rosé than anything else when I'm there.
Could the new fashion for rosés be an opportunity for Corsica's wine industry? I hope so. But if the window of opportunity beckons, I hope it's the small vineyards who benefit. Corsican rosés are made from red wine grapes, the most typical being those made from Nielucciu and Sciacarellu but sometimes they are blended with Grenache. In the case of rosé gris they occasionally add some vermentinu, a white wine grape. The combination is a range of very unusual, incredibly refreshing pale wines that could become world beaters.
I doubt if the amount of Corsican rosé drunk on the island itself has gone up much - the local people seem to drink it all the time in preference to red and white. I'm not sure why, but there seems to be something irresistible in a cold glass of rosé gris as the Corsican sun is setting. Although I have drunk some wonderful reds and some very superior whites, I drink more rosé than anything else when I'm there.
Could the new fashion for rosés be an opportunity for Corsica's wine industry? I hope so. But if the window of opportunity beckons, I hope it's the small vineyards who benefit. Corsican rosés are made from red wine grapes, the most typical being those made from Nielucciu and Sciacarellu but sometimes they are blended with Grenache. In the case of rosé gris they occasionally add some vermentinu, a white wine grape. The combination is a range of very unusual, incredibly refreshing pale wines that could become world beaters.
# posted by Derekthered @ 3:14 PM 
