Wine colour explained

Quick answer: what causes wine colour?

Wine colour is the visible appearance of finished wine. It is shaped by grape variety, pigments in the skins, the amount and duration of skin contact, pressing, fermentation, maturation and storage.

The key idea is that grape-skin colour, grape juice colour and finished-wine colour are not necessarily the same thing. Most grape juice is relatively pale, even when it comes from a dark-skinned grape. The skins contain pigments called anthocyanins, which are important contributors to young red-wine colour.

When red grapes are crushed and fermented with their skins, colour and other phenolic compounds move into the juice. When grapes are pressed and the juice is separated from the skins early, much less colour is extracted. That is why a wine’s colour depends on winemaking choices as well as the grape itself.

Colour is useful to observe, but it is not a verdict. A darker wine is not automatically better, sweeter, fuller-bodied, higher in alcohol or more strongly flavoured.

Grape skins, juice and finished wine

It is easy to assume that red grapes have red juice and white grapes have white juice. In reality, the colour of the skin often tells you more about the grape’s outside than its juice.

A dark-skinned grape can produce a pale wine when the juice is separated from the skins before substantial colour extraction. Conversely, a pale-skinned grape can produce a deeper-coloured wine if the juice spends extended time with the skins.

During winemaking, skin contact means that juice or fermenting wine remains in contact with grape skins and other grape solids. The longer or more intensive that contact, the more opportunity there is to extract colour. The result still depends on the grape, fruit condition, temperature, pressing and other choices.

Why red wine is usually red

Red wine is generally made by fermenting or macerating crushed dark grapes with their skins. This allows anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds to move into the fermenting juice.

Some winemakers also use a cold soak before fermentation or extended contact after fermentation. These techniques can influence colour and texture, but they do not produce identical results from every variety.

An Australian Shiraz, Pinot Noir or other red wine variety may show a different colour depending on its growing conditions, ripeness, fruit quality and winemaking. Variety is important, but it is not a fixed colour guarantee.

For a broader comparison of the categories, see red wine vs white wine.

Why white wine can be pale—even from dark grapes

White wine is commonly made by separating juice from grape skins early, often through pressing. With little skin contact, there is less opportunity to extract the pigments found in dark skins.

This means white wine can be made from white grapes or, in suitable circumstances, from dark-skinned grapes. The finished colour is influenced by the grape and the process, rather than being determined by skin colour alone.

Chardonnay is a useful Australian example of why colour should not be treated as a fixed variety signature. Conventional examples may be pale straw or gold, while skin contact, heavier press fractions or maturation can produce a deeper appearance.

For the wider process from grapes to finished wine, read how wine is made.

Why rosé is pink

Rosé sits between typical white and red wine production in the amount of colour extracted from dark skins. Its colour may be controlled through direct pressing, limited skin contact or saignée, a method in which some coloured juice is drained from a red-wine ferment and made separately as rosé.

There is no single universal rosé colour or method. A rosé may be very pale pink, salmon or a deeper pink depending on the grapes and the production choices.

Rosé colour also says nothing reliable about sweetness. A pale rosé is not necessarily dry, and a darker rosé is not necessarily sweet. For more detail, see what is rosé?.

Other wine colours

Wine categories and wine colours overlap. Sparkling, fortified and sweet wines can appear in several shades because colour is affected by grape material, skin contact, processing and maturation—not by the category name alone.

Skin-contact white wines may appear gold, amber, copper or orange-brown. In Australia, amber or skin-contact white is often clearer wording than “orange wine”, because Orange is also a registered geographical indication. If the term “orange wine” is used, it should be clear that it describes a style or colour and does not necessarily refer to the Orange wine region.

Colour vocabulary is descriptive rather than a rigid quality scale:

• White wines: pale straw, lemon, gold, amber and brown
• Rosé wines: pink, salmon and copper-pink
• Red wines: purple, ruby, garnet, brick and reddish-brown

How wine colour changes with age

Wine colour can change during maturation and storage. Young red wines often show purple or vivid ruby hues. With time, those youthful tones may shift towards garnet, brick or reddish-brown.

White wines can move from pale straw towards gold, amber or brownish shades. Oxygen exposure can contribute to these changes. Controlled oxygen-related reactions may form more stable colour compounds in some red wines, while excessive or premature oxidation can cause undesirable changes, particularly in white wine.

A brownish colour is not automatically proof that a wine is faulty. Style, variety, winemaking, storage and the wine’s history all matter. Colour can suggest development, but it cannot establish a wine’s exact age.

For more on oxygen and wine, read what is oxidation in wine?.

How to look at wine

You do not need special equipment to observe colour.

1. Hold the glass over a white background or a sheet of white paper.
2. Look at the wine from the side, then from above.
3. Note its intensity: pale, medium or deep.
4. Note its hue: perhaps purple, ruby, garnet, salmon, straw, gold, amber or brown.
5. Look at the rim, where the colour may differ from the centre.
6. Treat what you see as an observation, not a conclusion.

Colour is only one part of tasting. Smell and taste provide different information, so appearance should be considered alongside how to taste wine and what is wine aroma?.

What wine colour can—and cannot—tell you

Colour may offer broad clues about extraction, concentration of pigment or development. It can help you describe what is in the glass and notice differences between wines.

But colour alone cannot reliably tell you:

• whether a wine is high- or low-quality;
• whether it is sweet or dry;
• how much alcohol it contains;
• whether it is full-bodied;
• what it will taste or smell like;
• which grape variety or region produced it;
• how old it is; or
• how much tannin it contains.

For example, colour and tannin can both be influenced by skin contact, but they are not interchangeable measurements. To explore the distinction between appearance and structure, see what is wine body? and what is sweetness in wine?.

Wine colour FAQs

Why are red wines red?

Usually because juice from dark grapes has been fermented or macerated with the skins, extracting anthocyanins and other colour-related compounds.

Can white wine be made from red grapes?

Yes. If the juice is separated from the dark skins before substantial colour extraction, the wine can remain pale.

Why is rosé pink?

Rosé receives controlled colour extraction from dark grape skins, through direct pressing, limited skin contact or methods such as saignée.

Does darker wine mean stronger or better wine?

No. Colour does not reliably prove strength, body, sweetness, quality or alcohol. It is one visual clue among many.

Why does old wine change colour?

Pigments and other compounds change during maturation, oxygen exposure and storage. Red wine may move towards garnet or brick, while white wine may become more golden, amber or brown.