The charter guests want a tour of the wine fridge, and one of them — an engineer — asks how rosé is actually made. He has heard it is "just red and white mixed together". You need an answer that is short, correct and does not make him feel foolish. Winemaking is only a handful of steps, and the differences between the three still-wine styles come down to two of them.
The Common Steps
Every still wine passes through broadly the same sequence:
- Harvest — hand or machine picked.
- Crushing and pressing — separating juice from solids.
- Alcoholic fermentation — yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, and heat.
- Maturation — in stainless steel, in oak, or in bottle.
- Blending, clarification, stabilisation, bottling.
The whole art lies in when the juice meets the skins, and for how long.
White Wine
Grapes are pressed before fermentation, so the juice ferments with no skin contact. Result: no tannin, no colour extraction, fresh aromatic character. Fermentation is usually run cool (roughly 12–22°C) to preserve delicate aromas.
Red Wine
Grapes are crushed and fermented on their skins. This is the whole difference. Skin contact during fermentation extracts colour (anthocyanins) and tannin. Fermentation runs warmer (roughly 20–32°C) because heat and alcohol together extract more. The cap of floating skins is punched down or pumped over. Only after fermentation is the wine pressed off its skins.
Rosé Wine
Not, as a rule, a blend. Two legitimate methods dominate:
| Method | How it works | Typical style |
|---|---|---|
| Short maceration | Black grapes crushed; juice left on skins hours, not days; then pressed off and fermented as a white | Provence-style pale, dry, delicate |
| Direct press | Black grapes pressed straight away, taking only a whisper of colour | Very pale, crisp |
Blending red and white wine is generally not permitted for still rosé in the EU — Champagne is the well-known exception, where rosé is often made by blending a little red wine into the base.
Malolactic Conversion
A secondary, non-yeast process in which bacteria convert sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid. It gives a rounder texture and can bring buttery, creamy notes. Nearly all reds go through it. Whites are the choice point: many oaked Chardonnays do; most Sauvignon Blancs and Rieslings are deliberately blocked from it to keep them crisp.
Onboard Notes
- Tannin is why a big red wants decanting and a white does not. Explain it as texture — the drying, grippy sensation — not as a flavour.
- Pale colour in rosé signals nothing about quality or sweetness. Plenty of guests assume darker means sweeter; it does not.
- If asked something you do not know, say so and offer to check. Confident invention is the fastest way to lose a guest's trust.