Rosato del Salento 2024

The Rosato del Salento from the Italian winery Varvaglione is impressive to look at: on summer evenings, there’s nothing more to be desired than to sit on the terrace with this pleasantly chilled, slightly bubbly rosé and put the worries of everyday life out of your mind. Its fragrance is fresh fruit meets the white flowers of spring, and when tasted, it has a sparkling liveliness. Ideal with starters and light meals, but will not disappoint with cheeses.

Rosato del Salento is made from Negroamaro grapes grown in the Taranto area with a yield limit of 9000 kg/ha. Taranto is part of the province of Salento, known as the “corner of Italy”, where this red grape variety is dominant and is often used as the base for rosé.

After a short maceration on the skins and a fine pressing of the grapes, the must was then clarified by must flotation. The purified must was then fermented at 15 degrees until it reached an alcohol content of 12.5%. It was then filtered and refined in stainless steel vats, interrupted at intervals by the addition of carbon dioxide.

Must that has been properly purified makes wine that is easier to clarify and more stable, i.e. must purification affects the quality of the wine. Must flotation is a relatively new process in must purification, first used effectively in Italy. Flotation involves injecting gas at a pressure of 5-6 bar – nitrogen in the case of Rosato del Salento – into the must, the gas bubbles attach themselves to the tiny particles in the must and rise to the surface together, allowing them to be easily removed layer by layer.