Is Rosé a Blend of Red and White Wines?

So, why do rosé wines come in different shades?

There are some very pale rosé wines, while others have a deeper colour, somewhat closer to red. To understand these differences, we need to remember that there are two methods for making rosé wines:

• Direct pressing: black grapes are directly crushed and pressed in the same way as making white wine. This method produces the most delicately coloured rosé wines.
• The "saignée" method: where the grapes are placed in a maceration tank up to 48 hours. The juice is then drained from the bottom of the tank once the wanted colour and aromas are obtained. In fact this method is often considered as a by-product of making red wine. It is often used to make more concentrated red wine. You can understand why the method is called "saignée" or "bled", since it is a little like bleeding the wine from its fermentation process early to create a rosé wine that is darker in colour, fuller-bodied and more concentrated than the rosé wines made with direct pressing. These wines are well suited to gastronomy.