No conversation about rosé wine would be complete without including the sublime and capricious wines of Champagne. For me, most of the best and all of the worst Champagnes that I have had have been rosé—and for good reason. This far north, it is very tricky to get the skins of the grapes perfect, and to introduce color to the wine, at least part of it has to be macerated with the skins. In the south of France, on the coasts of Provence, the sunny, dry weather is moderated by the cooling influence of the sea, but in Champagne, even the summers can be wet, leading to rot. Most producers in the area opt to farm one small plot like a garden, using a different selection or clone of grapes, often very old vines with different pruning and lots of extra work like green harvesting. From this plot they will make a dark red wine that is blended into a base of white wine to make rosé. All three of the Champagnes in this article share this technique, and the first even a little more!

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