Rosé revolution gains momentum

The global thirst for drinking pink is showing no sign of slowing, with exports of Provence rosé to the US nearly doubling last year to 11.4 million litres.

The trend for drinking pink in the UK is also gathering momentum, leading to a 29% rise in exports of Provence rosé last year according to recent data from BMI Research.

Encouragingly, high-end rosés are driving the growth of the category, leading to a record year of exports for Provence pinks – the world’s largest rosé producing region.

The rate of growth for Provence rosé abroad has been rapid. A decade ago just 0.4 million litres of the wine was exported to the US, and now American consumers are guzzling 11.4 million litres of Provence pink a year.

The wines carry an average retail price in the US of $12 a bottle, and are proving popular with millennials.

Clocking its popularity, producers around the world, from Susana Balbo in Argentina to Chivite in Navarra in northern Spain are responding to the demand with Provençal-style pinks of their own that are dry in style and pale in colour.

Retailers are also getting behind the rosé movement via dedicated marketing campaigns, with Whole Foods celebrating National Rosé Day on 10 June.

BMI Research predicts that the trend towards premium rosé will continue to play out over the medium-to-long term.

Rosé accounted for 11% of wine sales in the UK in 2015 according to the WSTA.

Last summer, sales of rosé in the UK doubled due to the rise of the frozen rosé cocktail known as ‘frosé’, and the brosé phenomenon of rosé-loving men.

This year, wine writer Katherine Cole released a tome on pink wine called Rosé All Day, which touts itself as “an essential guide to your new favourite wine”.

In April New York importer Biagio Cru Wines & Spirits launched a new pink wine brand called ‘Rosé all day’ from the Pays d’Oc IGP in the Languedoc-Roussillon.

“We’re essentially attaching ourselves to a movement,” Biagio’s Darren Restivo said at the time of the launch, adding, “The tag ‘Rosé all day’ has quickly become a global phenomenon”.

Meanwhile, founders of the ‘Yes Way Rosé’ Instagram account, Erica Blumenthal and Nikki Huganir, launched a $15 Grenache/Syrah rosé from California’s Central Coast called Summer Water in 2015 in collaboration with LA-based direct to consumer wine club Winc.