Saignée

French · bleeding (rosé method)

Saignée is bleeding off juice from black grapes after brief skin contact to make rosé; it is one of the rosé methods permitted in the AOC Champagne specification.1

The Champagne specification lists several routes to rosé: maceration and saignée, which take colour from the skins; direct pressing; and rosé d'assemblage, which blends white and red wine before tirage.1

The colour in saignée comes from the grape skins, not from added red wine. By contrast, direct pressing is pressing without maceration.1 For white wines, Champagne grapes are pressed as whole bunches, without prior crushing.2 See rosé for the styles and rules.

See also

Rosé sparkling wineStylesMacérationGlossaryRosé d'assemblageGlossaryPressurage directGlossary

Sources

  1. Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Champagne » - modifications approved by the INAO national committee on 11 September 2024 (national opposition procedure text) (2024-09-11)
  2. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19