🍷 Vin gris
A very pale rosé from dark grapes pressed at once, with almost no skin contact.
Vin gris is a very pale rosé made from dark grapes. The French name means 'grey wine', although the colour is light pink, sometimes with a salmon tint.
The key step is quick pressing. The dark berries are pressed straight away, like white grapes, and the juice spends almost no time on the skins. Very little pigment passes into it, so the wine is much paler than ordinary rosé wine, where the juice stays on the skins for several hours.
Vin gris is made from Pinot Noir, Grenache, Gamay and Cinsault. Historically the style is known from Lorraine in France, and today it is also made in southern France, Morocco and California.
Vin gris tastes dry, light and fresh, closer to a white wine. It belongs to French wine and to the wider family of rosé wines. It is served chilled, at about 8–10 °C.
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Rosé
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ French wine
- Related to
- 🍇 Pinot Noir, 🍇 Grenache
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Rosé
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called grey wine if it is pink?
The French used this name for very pale wine from dark grapes. 'Grey' here means 'almost colourless'.
How is vin gris different from ordinary rosé?
The juice is pressed off at once, without resting on the skins. That makes vin gris paler and lighter.
Which grapes are used for vin gris?
Most often Pinot Noir, Grenache, Gamay and Cinsault.
Similar
🍷 Saignée rosé · 🍷 Blended rosé · 🍷 Clairet · 🍷 Weissherbst · 🍷 Blush wine · 🍷 Chiaretto
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.
Sources
- Wikidata
- Wikipedia (en)
- Wikipedia (de)
- Wikipedia (fr)
- Wikipedia (es)
- OIV, International Code of Oenological Practices
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Wine