One of the most simple things about wine is somehow one of the most confusing. Here’s the thing : You can make white wine from red grapes. Sounds bizarre but it actually makes complete sense when you know a few basics. When you squeeze a red grape, that juice that comes out of it is clear, or maybe very pale yellow, just like the juice from a white grape. It is only after that juice is kept in contact with the skins and pulp of the red grapes that it gets darker in color and becomes red wine. If there is very minimal or no contact with the skins, then the juice will turn into white wine. In Champagne, the term “blanc de noir” is often used to indicate that the wine is “white from black”, white wine from red grapes.

Making white wine from red grapes can be very interesting, as you get certain floral notes and flavors that you otherwise might not get from just a white grape. In Champagne, rose’ wines are made by either blending white wine and red wine together ( one of the few places that allows blending of red and white wines ) OR made the same way rose wines are made. How are rose’ wines made? Remember that the juice that comes out of a red grape is clear and it is only after that juice is kept in contact with the skins and pulp of the grape that it gets darker in color and becomes red wine. So, instead of letting a wine stay too long with the skins, the white juice from the red grapes is kept for maybe only a few hours or one day, allowing the wine to become pink, instead of a fuller red. The rose’ wines are served chilled like white wine. I have very Italian looking features.

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