Bordeaux – in the Pink !

22 May 2012

Summer is just around the corner ! Lunch on the terrace, drinks in the
sunshine, delicious summery salads… If you’re looking for the perfect wine
to fit the mood – try a delicious rosé from Bordeaux !

Figure it out…

Bordeaux rosé is on the up! Nowadays, five times more rosé is made in
Bordeaux than 20 years ago (61,000 hectolitres in 1990, compared with
250,000 hectolitres in 2011). 28 million bottles are produced and sales have
risen by 9%. Bordeaux is now one of the top producers of AOC rosé.

A little knowledge…

Rosé wine isn’t just a blend of red and white ! Rosé is made from the juice
of red- or black-skinned grapes, extracting just a little colour from the
skins. In Bordeaux, there are two ways of making rosé : there are rosés from
red/black grapes pressed specifically to make rosé wines, and rosés de
saignée made from juice run off from a red wine tank before too much colour
has been extracted from the skins (this has the side-effect of making the
red wine richer). Both types of rosé are fermented cool, like white wines,
to keep them fresh and fruity.

Like most Bordeaux wines, Bordeaux rosés are generally a blend of different
grape varieties. As a result, Bordeaux rosés are well-balanced, complex
wines - Merlot brings soft, gentle, red-berry fruit, while Cabernet gives a
much fresher, grassier, herbier character. Bordeaux is a coastal region, and
the maritime climate ensures that the wines have fresh, zingy acidity to
balance the delicate intensity of their flavours.

How to drink Bordeaux rosé…

Bordeaux rosé is a light, delicate wine best drunk in the flower of its
youth. It suits all kinds of situation, fun or formal, planned or
spontaneous – and you can drink it with great pleasure right through the
meal.

Bordeaux rosé with food…

Bordeaux rosé’s red fruit aromas – cherries and raspberries – and fresh
acidity make it a lovely, refreshing aperitif. But, being dry and well
balanced, it also goes very well with food : salads, spicy dishes, parma ham
with melon, beef carpaccio, pizzas, herb-flavoured dishes such as fish with
tarragon, and even certain cheeses.

Bring out the cocktails!

Your friends will love this cool Bordeaux Rosé cocktail, developed for us by
the Ecole du Vin de Bordeaux.
It’s called the Bordeaux Fizz !

- 1 cl lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons caster sugar
- 1 cl cherry syrup and two cherries
- 7 cl Bordeaux rosé
- a dash of fizzy water

Pour all the ingredients apart from the cherries and fizzy water into a
cocktail shaker, and shake vigorously. Pour over ice cubes into a large wine
glass. Rinse the shaker with the fizzy water and use it to top up the glass.
Decorate with the cherries.

www.bordeaux.com