Rosé has been the fastest growing wine category in the U.S. for several years. According to Nielsen, off-premise sales of rosé in January 2016 were $151 million. In January 2020, $576 million-plus. More than a 280 percent increase.
So, what rosés are you drinking? Wine-searcher-dot com is a useful for-pay website that tracks searches worldwide. This is where I find prices for the wines I recommend to you. They recently listed the most popular rosé searches. This is a metric of searches, not purchases, but informative nonetheless. In descending order, the top seven rosé inquiries:
• Château Miraval Côtes de Provence ($22). The Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt effort survived their marriage implosion. The wine, made by Rhône star Marc Perrin, is widely available. Demure, subtle, sophisticated, elegant. Maybe not a Brangelina description, but works for the wine. Link to my review
• Mateus Portugal The Original ($6). This warms the heart of Boomers like me. Mateus got my generation started into wine. It is a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Professional wrestler André the Giant was said to drink six bottle of Mateus before each match. Go ahead and boorishly shout: “Hey, Boomer.” I will be here for you when the corona virus crash means you need some cash, grasshopper. Link to Mateus website
• Frank Cornelissen Etna Susucaru ($31). Comes from northern valley of the active Etna volcano in Sicily. A rosso that also can be regarded as a light red. Blend of malvasia, moscadella, insolia, and nerello mascalese with 10 days of skin contact for rich color. Link to Frank Cornelissen website
• Château d’Esclans Côtes de Provence Whispering Angel ($22). Superb rosé from quality maker. Widely available—you can get it at a discount at Sam’s Club. Link to my review
• Gérard Bertrand Languedoc Côte des Roses ($14) comes from Languedoc region further down the coast from Provence. Link to Gérard Bertrand website
• R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rioja Rosado Gran Reserva ($108-150). With this bottle price, you likely will have to take the word from others that this is delicious. Aged four years in barrels; racked twice a year. You pay for that sort of effort. Link to Heredia website
• Château Minuty Côtes de Provence M de Minuty ($17-18). Famous, fluted bottle. Château Minuty is the top-selling rosé in Europe and one of only 18 Cru Classé in the Côtes de Provence. Link to my review. Link to my review. Link to my review.
Last round: Some days I long for my life to be easier. Then I come to my senses and realize if my life was easier there would be no way to justify the amount of rosé wine I drink.