Rosé Prosecco will hit UK shelves in January

The first highly anticipated bottles of rosé Prosecco are set to go on sale in UK supermarkets on 1 January 2020, according to a leading pink Prosecco producer.

The first bottles of rosé Prosecco from Bosco Viticulture will go one sale in the UK in January

Speaking to db during the London Wine Fair last week, Paolo Lasagni, managing director of Bosco Viticultori, said his company was gearing up for a January 2020 release in the UK.

“We will be making pink Prosecco from the 2019 harvest, which will be bottled in December and on UK shelves on 1 January 2020. There is a temptation to try and get the wines ready in time for Christmas, but it’s better to take your time and make a quality product than rush it to market.

Rosé Prosecco is set to boost annual Prosecco sales by 75m bottles

“The law for DOC rosé Prosecco requires that the wine spends 60 days in a pressurised tank during the second fermentation to stabilise the colour, so it will be hard to get the wines ready in time for Christmas in the UK.

“The wines will hit the UK in January and will be on sale in time for Valentine’s Day, which is a good moment to enjoy rosé Prosecco.”

In terms of the blend, Lasagni said Bosco Viticultori’s pink Prosecco will be formed of 15% Pinot Noir and 85% Glera, and that the rosé sparkler’s colour will emulate the popular Provence-style pale pink that consumers love.

“We have to do what the market is expecting and everyone loves pale rosés at the moment. Our goal is to make a fruity Prosecco but not a jammy one.

“Sparkling rosé can often be really heave and jammy, and something you’re tired of after a few glasses. We want to move away from that and make something super fresh, which has been the secret to the success of white Prosecco.”

As for volumes, Lasagni said Bosco Viticultori is looking to Produce 1 million bottles of rosé Prosecco from the 2019 vintage, which will have a shelf price of around £10-12.

He also revealed that the rosé will be housed in a clear glass bottle. “It’s not the best thing to do from a winemaking point of view due to the possibility of light strike, but consumers want to see the colour of the wine,” he said.

Lasgani admitted that not everyone in the region has welcomed the move to allow Prosecco rosé to be produced.

“It makes sense to make rosé Prosecco as we grow Pinot Noir in the region and it is one of the permitted grape varieties in Prosecco. All of the world’s other top sparkling wine regions, from Champagne to Franciacorta, make rosé, but some DOCG producers don’t like the idea and want to distance themselves from DOC rosé Prosecco.

“There’s not a lot of Pinot Noir left in the DOCG area, so they wouldn’t be able to make a lot of rosé Prosecco even if they wanted to,” he said.

Yesterday we reported that pink Prosecco could have a major impact on the wine industry, boosting annual sales of Prosecco by 75 million bottles. An in-depth look at the rosé wine market will appear in the forthcoming June issue of the drinks business.