"Rob" wrote in message
oups.com...
I do have a wine-making friend who makes a
pinot-blush by taking off some of the juice after 3-4 days of soaking
and fermenting it separately, allowing the remaining must to absorb the
final color/flavor extraction from the skins, resulting in what he
considers a much darker and more flavorful wine.

They do that in France too. It's called saignier (sp?). Literally, it
means "bleeding". It amounts to drawing off part of the "plasma" of the
must, thereby raising the "red cell count" of the remainder.

Any winery that makes vin gris de _whatever_ is likely doing that - to the
benefit of their red wines.

Tom S