As this gruesome summer of heat domes burns on, incidents of rosé slurping likely have increased in your wine world. Rosé has long been considered a quintessential bellwether of hot weather, so global warming is a boost to the rise of rosé.
Rosé relishing was ascendant even before this sad summer of sizzle. While rosé is wonderful well chilled as thermometers are challenged, rosé also deserves respect as a pleasurable pour any time of the year.
Rosé Wines World Tracking tracks rosé trends since 2002. During that time, rosé wine production exploded. Between 2011 and 2020, production surged by 132 million gallons to some 528 million gallons total—3.6 billion standard bottles. One in ten bottles of wine produced in the world now is rosé. Almost one in three bottles of wine consumed in France now is rosé.
The rampant rosé surge is led by dry iterations. Consumption of sweet rosé—blush wines, white zinfandel—has declined. So the rosé rise is fueled by serious wines. Those are wines with great food pairing versatility that also can be enjoyed sipped on their own or as an aperitif. They can please white wine lovers and red wine lovers alike.
Certainly wineries embrace this trend. Rosé is relatively quick and easy to make—no time spent in expensive barrels, out the winery door and onto seller shelves in months instead of years. Rosé often goes into lighter bottles with twist-caps, which saves money and is more environmentally friendly. No business—and wineries are businesses—frowns upon lower production costs and faster returns on investment.
Consumers enjoy that even higher end rosé is comfortably priced.
Rosé wine is not the “next big thing.” It is today’s big thing. Pink’s time has come.
Tasting notes:
• Game Box Wine Wondercade Edition Rosé Wine 2022 is delightfully refreshing, delivers tasty red fruits in an entertaining box. $22 for three-liter box ($5.50 a bottle) Link to my review
• Masciarelli Colline Teatine Rosato IGT 2022 is very easy going, delicate, let’s not get too serious, warm weather sipper. $11-14 Link to my review
• Calcu Gran Reserva Rosé Malbec 2022 is clean, refreshing, with delicious red fruits, particularly strawberry. Nice blend of mostly malbec abetted by petit verdot. $14-18 Link to my review
• Valdo Floral Rosé Brut NV is a special edition wine celebrating flowers and nature. Unites red grapes from Sicily—nerello mascalese—with classic glera grapes of prosecco in Veneto. $18-20 Link to my review
Last round: Why do mermaids wear sea shells? B shells are to small and D shells are to big. Wine time.