Red, white and rosé: how are they made?

The colour of wine almost always comes from the skin of the grape, not the juice.

Red wine

Black grapes ferment together with their skins, drawing colour, aroma and tannin from them. The longer the contact, the deeper the colour and the firmer the wine.

White wine

White wine is usually made from white grapes, and the juice ferments without the skins. You can also make white wine from black grapes: Blanc de Noirs champagne is an example.

Rosé

Black grapes stay in contact with the juice only briefly, a few hours. That gives the wine a light colour and a fresh, fruity taste. Provence rosé is known for its pale colour.

Orange wine

A fourth colour: white grapes fermented on their skins, as for red wine. The result is amber and full of character, like the Oranje from Pian delle Querci.