Rosé Champagne is a type of sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, characterized by its pink colour. It is produced either by blending a small amount of red wine with white wine or by the saignée method where the juice has brief contact with red grape skins.
Champagne Rosé is made from several grape varieties, mainly black grapes, such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier as well as Chardonnay. They were originally made only in the fall, but are now available year-round.
The most common production method is to blend white and black grape musts with a small amount of red wine (between 5 and 15%). This produces a Rosé Champagne of assembly. The proportion of red wine can vary, but the white wine must be the majority in this mode of production.
But for Champagne Rosé de saignée, it's about contact time between black grape skins and the juice. Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier are the only grapes used in Rosé de saignée, and Rosé Champagnes made using this method are regarded the best in the world.
Though this pink style of Champagne is not necessarily sweeter than a classic Champagne, it can contain a sweet liqueur made of wine and sugar. The level of sugar in the liqueur is determined at the time of dosage, and depending on the type of wine you want, different amounts of liqueur are used for the dosage.
A champagne with no extra sugar added = Champagne Brut Nature.
Between 0 and 6g of sugar per liter.= Champagne Extra Brut.
Less than 12g of sugar per litre = Champagne Brut.
Between 12 - 17g of sugar per litre = Champagne Extra Sec.
Between 17 - 32g of sugar per litre = Champagne Sec.
Between 32 - 50g of sugar per litre = Champagne Demi-Sec.
More than 50g of sugar per litre = Champagne Doux.