Enartis

The production of rosé wine is delicate and requires controlled winemaking from harvest through bottling.

Rosé wines are defined by their ‘pink’ color and their simplicity, elegance and freshness. The production of rosé wine is delicate and requires controlled winemaking from harvest through bottling. Whatever the wine style, some steps in rosé wine production are critical: in each of the three production phases (pre-fermentation, fermentation and post-fermentation), you should consider a series of factors that can influence the achievement of the three objectives in the success of a good rosé: color, mouthfeel and aroma.

Harvest

Start planning for making rosé wines in the vineyard and base picking decisions on the balance between acidity and sugar. Healthy fruit and early acid adjustment are highly recommended.
Harvest overnight or early morning for cool grapes and avoid long transport times and maceration in transport bins.
Destemming is preferred to avoid extracting herbaceous aromas and green tannins.

Protection against Oxidation

Enzymatic reactions are mainly responsible for oxidation in juice, causing loss of polyphenols, browning, production of vegetal characters and loss of varietal aromas.
Work at low temperatures for all pre-fermentation steps to slow down oxidation reactions.
• Reduce oxygen contact by working fast and under inert gas
• Use complete antioxidant protection on grapes and limit SO2 use
• Improve color, polysaccharide and aroma extraction, increase free run yield, improve clarification and help protein stability with enzymes
• Fine out oxidation precursors, oxidized molecules and off-aromas in juice if needed
• Increase antioxidant protection and protect fresh aromas by removing heavy metals, catalyzers of chemical oxidation reactions

Promote the Synthesis of Fruity, Fresh, Complex and Elegant Aromas

The synthesis and release of aromas happens during fermentation and depends on yeast, yeast nutrition and aromatic precursors.
• Yeast strains strongly impact the aromatic profile of wine due to their composition, enzymatic activities and metabolism.
• Yeast nutrition is key to optimize the effect yeast, limit off-flavor development and enhance fermentation aroma production.
• Juice turbidity impacts yeast stress and aroma production; we recommended working with juices between 80-200 NTU.
• Fermentation temperature changes yeast metabolism and enzymatic activities: Low temperatures (54 – 57 °F) promote ester and acetate production, while higher temperatures (61- 65 °F) increase varietal character expression.