Rosé samples are already rolling into our offices, as they do every spring. And so far, all but one have been bottled in clear glass.
Rosé producers use clear glass because they believe your decision to buy (or not) will be based largely on the wine’s pretty pink color. Maybe they are right about that. But here’s the problem, and wineries know it: Wine inside clear glass bottles is highly prone to lightstrike, a fault that occurs when a bottle of wine is exposed to light for a prolonged period. Wines bottled in clear glass bottles—like many rosés and sparkling wines—are especially prone to lightstrike. (Darker glass blocks some of the harmful wavelengths).
Lightstruck wines have an off aroma and flavor often compared to boiled cabbage or stagnant drain water. Because of the intensity of its UV light, sunlight is the worst culprit; fluorescent and LED light is not as damaging as quickly. Lightstrike can happen to wines bottled in clear glass after just a few days of intense exposure.
Last year, I’d say 20% of the rosés we tasted suffered from lightstrike.
Is there any way to know before you buy a bottle of rosé? Unfortunately, no. But in a wine store, I’d definitely avoid a floor stack of rosés near a sunny front window.
