Keep it English this Rosé season
With the sunshine now upon us, there’s no better time to indulge in a glass of cold rosé. We’re proud to now be offering our Rosé 2022 Vintage, as a blend of our Rondo red and Solaris white grapes for an English alternative to that glass of Provence Rosé this summer.
And we thought no better time to tell you all how we make our Rosé at Radlow Hundred. We plant Rondo and Solaris grapes at our vineyard in Herefordshire. The Rondo grape is resistant to the English chills, and simply loves the warm British summer time, ripening into very fruity, jammy notes. The Solaris grape is more commonly found in English soil, and was perfectly matched to our chalky Herefordshire soil. Solaris typically presents dry, citrus-y wines, with flavours of melon.
Our Rosé is more closely linked to the likes of a fruity Grenache. With intense summer berry notes and sweetness, against a subtle backdrop of green tea, the strawberry and lime flavours balance the sweetness of the wine with a medium dry finish.
The most common method of production for rosé is usually maceration, using red grapes. These are usually harvested and then crushed to release juice. These crushed grapes are then macerated for a short period of time to allow the grape skins to influence the flavour and colour of the juice. Afterwards, the grapes are then pressed, and the skins are discarded. In red wine making, the skins remain for the next process of fermentation.
To create our special Rosé, we actually blend the two grapes together. This is when a little bit of red wine is added to a vat of white wine. This happens a lot in sparkling wine, but is less commonly seen in still. We decided to use this method, as it best suited our flavours, and produced a really juicy, fruity rosé that we loved.
It’s the perfect option for sunny alfresco dining, and delicious paired with English cheese and crackers for an afternoon picnic. As a growing area of producers, we’re proud to be based in Herefordshire and all of our bottlings pay tribute to our surroundings. Our Rosé label was inspired by the sweeping shingle beach along the River Wye, and a local bather taking a dip.
To find out more about our Rosé 2022 Vintage, head to our product pages here. We hope you enjoy exploring the growing world of English Rosé this summer.