2022 Rosé – New Releases

BY VINOUS

The first installment of our annual Rosé coverage kicked off with an in-depth look at the wines of Italy, and our second installment focuses on wines from all over including France, Spain, the United States and more. Readers will find a wide range of Rosés to suit any occasion. Watch this space as we add more choices from our team of editors in the coming weeks.

The Italian Rosé Paradigm

BY ERIC GUIDO | MAY 24, 2022

Frankly stated, Italy is not as simple as a typical wine-producing nation. This applies to Rosé more than nearly any other category. First, the country boasts over 100 different red grape varieties that can be used to make Rosato, and it’s not always the case that these varieties can be found on the front or back labels of the bottles. Second, just because the Northeast may have had a great vintage, that doesn’t mean the same holds true for the Northwest or the center or south of the peninsula. The fact is that Italy is one of the most geographically diverse winemaking countries in the world, surrounded by water on three sides, with the Alps to the north, desert winds blowing up from the south and a spine of mountains running down the middle. But here’s the good news: while it’s difficult to make a broad generalization about a single vintage and the litany of Rosé that Italy produces, the chances are that the country’s diversity works in consumers’ favor anyway; because even in the worst of years, there will always be a region that excelled, a grape variety that rose to the top and wines that will truly be worth the hunt.

Two thousand twenty-one is the vintage for the majority of Italy’s Rosés current-release. The year was generally warm throughout, and most regions witnessed drastic climatic events, such as sporadic torrential rains, which seems to happen often lately, as a result of global warming. Most regions reported a more balanced year than 2020, from an aspect of heat spikes and serious drought conditions. What’s more, the weather during harvest was temperate.