Everything To Know About Rosé Cider
You wake up to the sun shining as birds sing and flit about outside your window. You check your weather app and it’s reporting mid-seventies and clear skies. Translation: Today is the perfect day to hang in the park with snacks and a bottle of rosé—rosé cider that is.
Here’s everything to know about this delightfully pink and refreshing beverage.
What Is Rosé Cider?
“Rosé cider is the wild, wild west of cider,” says Max Koskela, co-owner of Two K Farms in Michigan. “But in my opinion, a traditional rosé cider is made from red-fleshed apples. Instead of additives, we are extracting the color from the apples themselves, like you would if you were making a Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc rosé.”
Christine Walter, owner and head cidermaker of Bauman's Cider in Oregon agrees. But she adds, “rosé cider can also be a co-ferment with red fruit.” Referencing how many cidermakers, including Walter, will sometimes age their ciders on red grape lees (grape skins after fermentation) for color. Other common additions to achieve a red hue include rose hips, red currants, beets, and more.
So, no, the definition isn’t cut and dry (yet), But it’s safe to say that if you have a cider that deviates from the classic pale straw or amber color and is instead a pale pink or deep ruby, it’s a rosé.
How Is Rosé Cider Made?
Much like the definition, there isn’t one way to make a rosé cider–also called cider rosé. However, there are a few differences between relying on red-fleshed apples versus cofermenting.
Either way, the process starts the same: apples are harvested; milled into a pulp; and then that pulp is pressed and the pomace (crushed apple flesh) is separated from the resulting juice. Once that arduous process is complete, the cidermaker then needs to decide how they are going to go about making a rosé.
Making Rosé Cider With Red-fleshed Apples
‘It's pretty hard to make a rose a cider straight from the apple,” says Field Maloney, owner of West County Cider in Massachusetts. They’ve made a rosé cider since 1998 with pink- and red- fleshed apple varieties.
Indeed, it’s not easy to extract juice, let alone the color, from apples. So if you are attempting to make a cider rosé from just red-fleshed apples, the planning process needs to start early—really early.
“You have to pay attention at harvest and source the right apples to get the color you want,” says Matt Swihart, owner and brewmaster of Double Mountain Brewery+Cidery in Oregon. Meaning that in a year where the fruit is quite light colorwise, cidermakers need to get creative. Like Koskela, who has “in the past frozen some pomace of red-fleshed varieties and added that to the fermenting juice for color and flavor.”
Additionally, Walter notes, you have to be careful of common additives and cellar cleaners when it comes to maintaining that pink or rose hue.
“The pink or red color is very sensitive to sulfites,” says Walter. “We don’t use sulfites often. But when we do, we are very careful not to allow them or any other oxidizer near the rosé because it will brown.” Additionally, she notes, even certain food-safe sanitizers commonly used in cleaning tanks can turn pink or red hues brown. So it’s important to take precautions.
Making Cider Rosé the Co-Ferment Way
A co-ferment is when you ferment apple juice with other kinds of fruit or fruit juices. This can be done for a variety of purposes, including to make a rosé cider. For instance, Walter has had some of her ciders sit on Pinot Noir or Syrah lees for 4–5 days to extract the desired color.
Other popular co-ferments to make rosé cider include cherries, rose hips, and hibiscus.
What are Typical Rosé Cider Aromas and Flavors?
Like many things in cider, it depends. Take West County’s rosé bottling for instance. They have been making it for almost 30 years and naturally apples are going to vary from year to year.
But “They are typically light, effervescent, and with fruit notes,” says Koskela. Indeed, in general, these offerings tend to be a little on the sweeter side and offer cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and other red fruit notes along with bright acidity.
How Do You Pair Rosé Cider With Food?
Not to throw shade at wine or beer, but cider is the best beverage to pair with food. And rosé cider is certainly no exception. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
“I would pair cider rosé with anything you would consider pairing a Riesling or Chardonnay with,” says Swihart. Continuing on to say that they pair well with pungent foods like fragrant cheeses, but he’d avoid overly spicy foods.
Similarly Walter suggests pungent and fatty foods. So think, ribs, pulled pork, fragrant cheeses, and cured meats like pancetta. But of course, at the end of the day, it’s all about personal preference.
Want to learn more about cider? Explore the Certified Cider Professionals program.
