Millennials have been accused of killing wine (even cork). Regardless of how true it is or not, they certainly haven’t killed pink.
On the contrary, they are probably responsible for its rebirth. And while many naysayers might have thought pink was a flash in the pan a couple of years ago, it’s not turning black.
“For a long period in the United States, rosé wine had the image of being sweet and fruity, which prevented the variety from gaining wider acceptance,” says Ryan Lee, market analyst at IWSR. “French producers successfully marketed and expanded tastings for several years to change the American consumer’s perception of what rosé wine is. This has helped increase interest in the category and greatly increase the number of rosés available. Now that rosé wine is well known and adored, more producers, especially national ones, have their own dry rosés ”.
But while the Provence region of France is synonymous with rosé, as American consumers cling more to rose-colored wine, they are learning, diversifying, and buying rosé wines from other regions. They look not only towards the United States and other New World winemakers, but also towards France’s neighbors in Europe, who share similar climates and produce wines of comparable quality, but often charge much less per bottle or case.
Millennials, more than any other demographic, have been a key factor in the success of the rosé category. The global consumption of rosé wine has exploded in 17 years, growing by 40% between 2002 and 2018, according to Rosé Wines World Tracking. Within the US market, Brauer says that millennial consumers are looking for light, easy-drinking wines, but they are also looking for a lifestyle.
Message in a bottle
As consumers continue to search for the next big thing, Portugal is a great alternative. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, when non-essential travel was not an issue, Americans flocked to Portugal in staggering numbers. In recent years, Portugal has become one of the main tourist destinations and has been named Best European Tourist Destination by the World Travel Awards three years in a row (2017 to 2019). Plus Wine Enthusiast named it one of the Top 10 Wine Travel Destinations in 2019.
“What people find in Portugal are phenomenal wines at an incredible price,” says Brauer. “The popularity of rosé in recent years can be attributed to the considerable improvement in the overall quality of rosé wines that can now be found on the market and also to the astonishing versatility of the wine. Throughout the world, consumers enjoy rosé in cocktails, as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to a variety of summer meals.
Untapped potential
Americans looking for an Italian summer drink might now be conditioned to order an Aperol spritz. But in the shadow of the Instagram-approved cocktail, Italy has substantially increased its production and sales of rosé wine both within its own market and in the European Union and the United States in recent years.
Made from red grapes using white winemaking practices, Chiaretto is a fresh, dry rosé produced in the region around Lake Garda, between Milan and Venice, in northern Italy. (The name Chiaretto derives from the Italian term chiaro, which means “clear” or “pale”).
Lake Garda is the most important region for rosé wine in Italy, producing more than 10 million bottles a year on average, and rosé accounts for 6% of the Italian wine market. That upward trend is expected to continue despite the coronavirus pandemic, as the region shipped 2.6 million bottles of Chiaretto during the first quarter of 2020, half a million more than in the first quarter of 2019.
Rosy reputation
The United States does not have a particular region dedicated to rose production, like Lake Garda in Italy or Provence in France. But industry experts point to California and Oregon as competitive options, from San Luis Obispo to the Willamette Valley.
Jessica Kogan, marketing director for Cameron Hughes Wine and Vintage Wine Estates in the San Francisco Bay Area, suggests that the American style of rosé is “generally more lush and modern.” And most of the rosés made here are dry and often low in alcohol, making them tastier for the summer.
Kogan says a customer from Texas recently told him that he was ordering a box of [Cameron Hughes] rose as his “summer slaughterhouse” because it was cool and easy to drink. “Consumers often choose rosé wines over whites, as they provide the wine drinker with a cool, refreshing experience without the oak or acidic flavors of California’s leading white wine varieties that many wine drinkers find polarizing. . “He explains. Chardonnay, in particular, gets a bad rap for being too oaky and buttery, while a Sauvignon Blanc is often criticized for being too herbaceous and vegetal.
Rosé, however, feels a bit more substantial than a white wine, but not as heavy as a red on a hot day. “A rosé is generally understood before its first sip – the drinker can anticipate its subtle red fruit, crisp finish, and often a smooth mouthfeel,” says Kogan.
