Is a blush wine the same as a rose?

With the dramatic increase in Finger Lakes rose and blush wines now available, the difference between the two is worth exploring.

Many information sources including Internet sites like Lexicus, The Cook's Thesaurus and The Free Dictionary by Farlex use the terms interchangeably.

Therein lies the trouble. According to The Cook's Thesaurus, "Blush is displacing rosé as the name given to pink wines, though some people use the name rosé to describe darker pink wines. Whatever name you give them, they're usually made from red grapes that are only allowed to ferment a few days -- too short a time for the grape skins to impart a deeper color to the wine."

Lexicus blurs the lines between the wine terms rose and blush even more. It says that a rose wine is a "pinkish table wine from red grapes whose skins were removed after fermentation began." The definition lists as synonyms: Blush Wine, Pink Wine, Rose.

The Free Dictionary by Farlex duplicates the definitions by Lexicus. It would appear we could close the book on the subject, but in reality we have only just scratched the surface.

Pressing on, I unearthed other Internet sites that provide a fuller understanding of differences between rose and blush wines. The online site www. terroir-france.com/wine/rosewine begins with "First of all Rosé wine is not a blending of red and white wine (abstraction made of the exceptional case of Champagne Rosé)." It then goes on to describe three different ways in which rose wine is produced using red grapes.

The first talks about gray or pale rosé wine. "The grapes are pressed as soon as they arrive in the cellar. It allows a quicker diffusion of the color in the must (freshly pressed juice containing the grape pulp, skins, stems, and seeds)." After only a few hours of skin contact, which provides the color, the wine is then fermented and finished like a white wine, usually in stainless steel tanks.

The next method of making rose wine starts like the first but, after pressing, the fermentation process is allowed to begin with the skins still in contact for up to a few days. The fermenting juice is then separated from the skins, which limits how much the skins add color and flavor to the wine.

A third way of making rose wine begins the same as the second method using red grapes, with an eventual twist along the way. After the fermenting juice has reached a pink color, some of it is drawn off and finished like a white wine in stainless tanks. There are two distinctly different reasons to use this procedure. The first has been used by winemakers for years to increase the depth of color and flavor in their red wines. By drawing off, or bleeding, some of the partially fermented juice, the remaining volume absorbs more color and flavor from the skins. California's Sutter Home White Zinfandel came into being more than 30 years ago using this technique, which the French call Saignée. A second reason is that some winemakers simply want to make a lighter-bodied wine that retains lively fruit flavors. The fermentation process is slowed by finishing the wine in cooled stainless steel tanks, which allows more of the fresh fruit flavors to be retained.

In contrast to these methods of making rose wines, blush wines are often made by blending mostly white wine with a small amount of red wine to achieve a pleasing pink, festive color.

This is what is done at Bully Hill Vineyards, which produces six blush wines. They range from the semi-dry LeGoat Blush made with seyval blanc, vidal blanc and Cayuga grapes to the smooth-tasting, sweet Pink Catawba made with almost all Catawba grapes. Colobel is the grape of choice used at Bully Hill to color its blush wines. A small amount of it imparts the delightful color for their blush wines.

Tim Miller makes a blush wine at Chateau Lafayette Reneau using almost all pinot noir grapes straight from the pressing to make his 2006 Pinot Noir Blanc wine. The colorless juice is fermented in jacket-cooled stainless steel tanks that capture wonderful fruit flavors that would be lost at higher temperatures. Tim adds a small amount of baco noir to provide the beautiful color for his wine.

Morten Hallgren, owner and winemaker at Ravines Wine Cellars, has produced a wonderful 2006 Pinot Rose. He followed the method of using skin contact with the juice to create the color for his wine. The juice was separated from the skins after less than two days and finished in stainless steel tanks.

At Heron Hill Winery, winemaker Thomas Laszlo has produced a blush and a rose wine. The nonvintage Game Bird Blush is blend of two reds, pinot noir and cabernet franc, and a white, Cayuga. Both of the red wines were produced using the bleed method. He also created the 2006 Cabernet Franc Reserve using the bleed process.

These are only a few of the blush and rose wines now popping up in the Finger Lakes. They are lighter in body and taste than full reds and range from bone dry to very sweet. You should be able to find something you will really enjoy.

Jeff Richards' wine column is published the last Saturday of the month. It also appears online at www.stargazette.com. Click on "Columnists" in box at left, then click on "All Columnists," then scroll down to the bottom of the page and the link to "The Wine Guy." For comments or questions, call (607) 271-8279 or (800) 836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: jrichards@stargazette.com