Blush Wine, Rose Wine, Rose and blush wine, Blush wine or Rose wine

Blush wine speaks to Rose wine, Rose and Blush wine and Blush wine or Rose wine.

Blush became very popular when there was a dramatic increase in the demand for white wine. California producers then made white wine from red grapes by allowing minimal contact with the grape skins.

In 1975 Sutter Homes white Zinfandel underwent a stuck fermentation which is when the yeast stops fermenting before all the sugar is turned to alcohol. It was put aside for two weeks and then tasted it. Upon tasting it was decided to sell this more pink and sweet wine.

In 1978 the word Blush was trademarked for these semi-sweet wines particularly from producers such as Sutter Home and Beringer. It should be noted that Mill Creek no longer produces a blush wine.

The term "blush" is generally restricted to wines sold in North America, although it is sometimes used in Australia and by Italian Primitivo wines hoping to cash in on the recently discovered genetic links between Primitivo and Zinfandel.

Varieties:

Although "blush" originally referred to a colour (pale pink), it now tends to indicate a relatively sweet pink wine, typically with 2.5% residual sugar; in North America dry pink wines are usually marketed as rosé but sometimes as blush.

In Europe almost all pink wines are referred to as rosé regardless of sugar levels, even semi-sweet ones from California. In the Blush family there is also an Orange wine which is made from white wine grape varieties that have spent some time in contact with the grape skins.

Orange wines get their name from the darker, slightly orange tinge that the white wines receive due to their contact with the coloring pigments of the grape skins. This winemaking style is essentially the opposite of rosé production which involves getting red wine grapes quickly off their skins, leaving the wine with a slightly pinkish hue.

Wine

Varieties:

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