Wine Time: Pink wines just right for summer

Summertime would be pink. That’s the color our skin turns if we spend five minutes too long in the summer sun. Pink wines fit right in with summer.

While there are winemaker variations in growing, harvesting and making pink wines, the difference between pink and red wines comes from the amount of time the juice spends in contact with the grape skins during fermentation. With almost all grapes, the color pigment is in the grape skins.

During fermentation the color is extracted from the skins. When the juice reaches the hue the winemaker is looking for, it’s removed from the skins. Colors range from light pink to bright salmon, just short of cherry red.

Pink wines are made from red grapes. Although some grapes produce better results, just about any grape that makes red wine can be used to make pink wine. Pink wines offer similar but subtle flavors compared to it red counterpart. Pink wines also usually, but not always, are lighter in alcohol content making them more suitable for a lunch picnic.

Wine recommendations

These wines contain less than 13 percent in alcohol, making them ideal for summer sipping. The dollar is doing well against the euro and exceptionally well against the South African rand making these wines more affordable.

▪ Elicio Rose 2013, Rhone Valley, France – about $12. This wine from the Cote de Ventoux in the southern Rhone Valley is made from 80 percent grenache and 20 percent cinsault. It’s aromatic with aromas of red fruit, and fruit forward flavors of strawberry and raspberry.

▪ Mulderbosch Rose 2013, South Africa – about $13. This wine is made from 100 percent cabernet sauvignon grapes. It’s bright pink in color. The grapes are picked early to give it added aromatic qualities, and it has aromas of blood oranges and sandalwood. It’s well balanced with good acidity, and flavors of cherry and watermelon.

▪ Stoller Rose 2013, Dundee Hills, Ore., – about $20. This wine is made from 100 percent estate-grown pinot noir grapes. It has a fragrant nose of rose petals, watermelon and guava with flavors of strawberry, plum, cranberry and raspberry.

▪ Chavignol Rose 2013, Loire Valley, France – about $25. This wine comes from the village of Chavignol on the east side of Sancerre. It’s made from 100 percent pinot noir grapes. Bright salmon pink in color, it has aromas of citrus and tropical fruit with flavors of tart red cherries and berries.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Wine Time: Pink wines just right for summer."