As the summer season kicked off, I wondered: Has the world has finally reached peak rosé?
“Definitely not,” says Jean-Guillaume Prats, the former chief executive officer of Château Lafite Rothschild. In the past three years, his family and two high-profile partners have acquired three châteaux in Provence, and this spring launched a new global rosé brand, Roseblood. They’ll make 1 million bottles in vintage 2023, and even more next year.
Although rosé sales have rocketed ever upwards for more than a decade, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis shows a possible slowdown in the U.S., with the volume of retail sales declining 3% from 2021 to 2022. Adam Rogers, research director for the U.S. market, says, “Quality brands with authenticity and style have continued to increase in demand, while many of the lower quality brand offerings have fallen out of favor.” He adds that the outlook for future declines will be “largely driven by the lower-priced end of the market.”
Sales of rosé in restaurants and bars grew 27% over the same time frame, according to market research firm CGA Strategy.
Prats isn’t worried. After all, pink wine from France, especially Provence, continues to dominate rosé sales on e-commerce platform Drizly.
“New investors are all focusing on Provence,” says Prats. “It has terroir, history and great vineyards, which is why it’s attracting big players like LVMH. We want Roseblood to be one of the major brands, like Whispering Angel.”
How did Roseblood take off?
Media entrepreneur and chairman of Banijay Entertainment Stephane Courbit and the Bordeaux Prats family acquired historic Château d’Estoublon in 2020, then were joined by former French President and First Lady Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni. Earlier this year the group snapped up Château Beaulieu in Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and Château Cantarelle in the Var. They now own just over 400 hectares of vineyards, and the cream-colored châteaux, with tile roofs, are becoming ever more luxurious hotels.
The partners are banking that rosé will continue to be a symbol of the glam life, a key element in Provence’s image as a luxury destination. Prats sees potential for pink drinking among the younger generation in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Africa. Later this year the partners will debut a luxury version of Roseblood, to be labeled 1489.
Rosé has largely shed its girly image in the worlds of culture and fashion and is now featured in a host of products that want some of pink wine’s fairy dust. From now until the end of October, for example, Le Meridien hotels are offering a rosé sorbet created by TikTok chef Meredith Hayden that uses the wildly popular Whispering Angel in the recipe. Spanish wine giant Freixenet will be peddling boozy sparkling rosé ice pops at UK Pub in the Park festivals this summer.
The sweet stuff doesn’t appeal to me, but I’ve become a fan of one new pink thing: rosé vinegar, especially a new release from the Ponti brand you can find on Amazon. It’s lighter than red and spicier and more flavorful than white — ideal for marinating salmon and chicken for the grill.
Plenty of spirits have jumped on the pink bandwagon, especially gin (up 21% in 2021), according to IWSR, which also reports pink tequila will rise next. Inspiro Tequila even produces its Rosa Reposado, using former rosé wine barrels.
In the wine world, the number of new rosés continues to multiply.
Celebs such as CJ McCollum have joined the action; the basketball star has recently released his third vintage of McCollum Heritage 91 rosé of pinot noir made in conjunction with Oregon’s Adelsheim Vineyard.
New low- and no-alcohol versions I’ve tried aren’t very appealing, but the latest cabernet-based rosés from such places as Bordeaux and Napa are great with food.
Global warming is poised to boost rosé’s popularity. During last summer’s heat waves in France, rosé sales in supermarkets from May to July jumped 10% over the same months in the previous year, according to NIQ (formerly Nielsen IQ). Earlier this month, supermarket Aldi Stores Ltd. put up a temperature-sensitive billboard in Manchester, England, that dispenses free rosé (seriously!) when the outdoor temperature hits 19.2 degrees centigrade (67F).
Still, the hotter it gets, the better it is for rosé. When the temperature hit 26 degrees centigrade (79F) this month, Aldi’s sales went up 50% in a day. Proving once again that pink wine is the perfect summer drink.