White wine, rosé wine and red wine span a range of color from very pale yellow to pink to deep purple. There’s a world of differences among the styles of these wines and the ways they are made. But the way in which they each achieve their own degree of color is simply dependent upon how much time the grape skins spend in contact with the grape juice.

As the juice from crushed red grapes remains in contact with the grape skins, the pigments of the skins add color to the juice. This is called maceration time. Depending on the wine and the winemaker’s preference, it could last from several days to several weeks. The longer the maceration period, the darker the wine’s final color. Throughout the maceration, the skins tend to rise to the top, from the carbon dioxide that is released during fermentation. This “cap” of skins is regularly pushed back into the juice or “punched down,” to extract as much color from the skins as possible.

Before white wine is fermented, the juice is separated from the skins, thereby having little or no contact with the grape skins. White wine can be made from either red or white grapes because the juice coming from any grape is always clear, but only red grapes will be used to make red wine.

When rosé wine is being made, the grape skins are left in contact with the fermenting juice for a time period just long enough to create a pink-colored juice. Then the skins are removed and the remaining juice is fermented in the same manner as juice for making white wine.

Len Napolitano lives in San Luis Obispo County and is certified in wine by the Society of Wine Educators, Wine & Spirits Education Trust and Chicago Wine School and continually gains knowledge from his frequent contact with California winemakers. More information is on his website, www.wineology.com.
Send your questions about wine to: wineologist@earthlink.net or by mail to Len Napolitano in care of Wine Country This Week magazine. Wineology is a registered trademark of Len Napolitano.