It’s time to take pink wine seriously by Sharon Wild

IT’S TIME TO TAKE PINK WINES SERIOUSLY

(BUT NOT THAT SERIOUSLY)

THINGS ARE LOOKING PRETTY ROSY FOR ROSÉ WINES RIGHT NOW. IN FACT, THE ROSÉ CATEGORY IN AUSTRALIA IS POSITIVELY BLOOMING. IT’S GROWING FASTER THAN ANY OTHER WINE. THE LATEST DATA FROM IRI MARKETEDGE SHOW JUST HOW TICKLED PINK WITH ROSÉ AUSTRALIAN’S ARE; WITH A GROWTH RATE OF 26% IN VALUE ROSÉS ARE PERFORMING WELL AHEAD OF BOTTLED RED WINE (SHOWING 4% GROWTH), BOTTLED WHITE WINES (SHOWING 1.5% DECLINE) AND SPARKLING WINES (SHOWING 1% GROWTH). ROSÉS’ TOTAL SHARE OF TOTAL BOTTLED WINE, HOWEVER, IS SMALL WHEN COMPARED WITH THE OTHER CATEGORIES (3.2%), HOWEVER, ITS PRESENCE IN ALL MARKET SEGMENTS IS CERTAINLY BEING FELT.

Words Sharon Wild

Our love affair with rosé, however, didn’t happen overnight. Not that long ago (for those of us who are Gen X and beyond) super-cheap, fluorescent candy-coloured, syrupy-sweet rosés were omnipresent (it certainly seemed that way!) There were, of course, producers passionate about the bench-mark rosés of southern France who emulated its elegant, dry, pale-hued style, but not many examples reached the mainstream market in Australia. They were more commonly sold via direct channels like cellar door (or producers kept them for themselves!).

That was until around a decade ago when Leanne De Bortoli and Steve Webber of De Bortoli armed themselves with their new, classy and eminently drinkable; La Bohème Pinot Noir Rosé. They banded together with other like-minded rosé producers and established the Rosé Revolution. They hosted events around Australia and capitalised on the exploding popularity of the new social media of the time - Facebook and Twitter - to shine the spotlight on their high-quality, dry rosés within a lifestyle context.

The Rosé Revolution was undoubtedly pivotal in creating momentum for high-end rosés in Australia. And for so many reasons; the events highlighted just how versatile rosés are – as an alternative to white or red or on their own, the style fits with the Australian climate and relaxed lifestyle, they are photogenic and thus sharable on social media, and, as noted by Leanne de Bortoli in her blog at the time; “…it can be a serious wine, but not to be taken too seriously.” For all these reasons rosé became a hit with Millennials at a time when the wine industry often struggled to attract this audience. From their appearance to their taste and their overall perception,

The Rosé Revolution was undoubtedly high-quality, dry rosés tick all the boxes for pivotal in creating momentum for high-end rosés in Australia. being on-trend; so much so that in recent years the rosé landscape has been transformed and is bustling with innovative new rosés produced from a plethora of interesting varietals and regions. De Bortoli themselves, for example, have added five more rosés to their portfolio - De Bortoli Rosé Rosé, Bellariva King Valley Sangiovese Rosé, Villages Heathcote Grenache Rosé, Vinoque Yarra Valley Nebbiolo Rosé and Down The Lane Rosé Gris de Gris. And, not surprisingly De Bortoli Wines has just

The latest data from IRI MarketEdge show just how tickled pink with rosé Australian’s are; with a growth rate of 26% in value rosés are performing well ahead of bottled red wine (showing 4% growth), bottled white wines (showing 1.5% decline) and sparkling wines (showing 1% growth).

been recognised in the prestigious 2019 Australian Financial Review BOSS ‘Most Innovative Companies’ list.

The number one selling rosé in Australia by volume and value according to IRI MarketEdge data for the past quarter is also testament of the transforming rosé landscape. Treasury Wine Estate’s (TWE) cheekily named (and cheekily labelled) Squealing Pig Marlborough Rosé, made from Pinot Noir, is pretty pale pink, is laden with watermelon and red fruits and is refreshingly crisp.

On the subject of innovation, recognising the strength of this rosé and with gin being the fastest growing category of any alcohol, TWE have merged categories with the release of Squealing Pig Rosé Gin. It’s crafted from ten botanicals and is the first gin sold in Australia to contain a splash of Pinot Noir rosé wine.

Sticking to the subject of innovation and ticking all the on-trend boxes it’s hard to go past Bone Dry Rosé. The wine’s cool logo was designed by Daimon Downey, former front man of Sneaky Sound System and the wine itself was crafted in collaboration with Mudgee based winemaker, Simon Gilbert from Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Primitivo, Sangiovese and Merlot. It comes in a range of sizes; from piccolos to magnums. Toni Patterson MW of the Real Review says Bone Dry Rosé is; “…an excellent example of a contemporary dry rosé that tastes as good as it looks. “

In the $10-15 price point, Casella Family Wines Magic Box Remarkable Rosé at RRP$15 is the third best-selling rosé in both volume and value terms (IRI MarketEdge). It appeals because it is beautifully packaged and shows fresh, lively strawberry fruit flavours. Other best sellers in this price point include Wingara Wine Group’s La La Land Rosé produced from Pinot Noir in northwest Victoria and Tempus Two Varietal Rose from South Australia. Tempus Two Winemaker Andrew Duff says of the wine; “I make our rosés with texture and depth coupled with crunchy acidity and a really attractive pale pink colour.”

On a recent visit to Margaret River, stand out rosés included Vasse Felix’s inaugural release; Classic Dry Rosé produced from Shiraz in an elegant style. In a more robust, textural style is Deep Woods Estate Rosé, also made from Shiraz. Another stand out was Voyager’s stylish Project Rosé produced from Shiraz, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Since its release a few years ago, it has regularly featured as a food pairing on Voyager’s Discovery Menu to a positive reception.

On the subject of food pairing, Chester Osborne of d’Arenberg notes their ‘not so seriously’ named Stephanie the Gnome With Rosé Coloured Glasses (produced from Sangiovese, Shiraz and Cinsault) is a runaway success in their restaurants within their iconic Cube complex in McLaren Vale. Hot pink in colour, and with a candy-like nose, this rosé doesn’t appear too serious, however, on the palate it is highly-complex, savoury and bone dry; seriously delicious!

In terms of direct to consumer sales, Vino Mofo’s Eddie Schweitzer, Head of Merchandising, says; “We had huge, roughly 100%, year on year growth for rosé from 2014-2017 in terms of total sales.” While Schweitzer attributes much of their initial success with Provence Rosés, he says their market is broadening to include wines from other parts of Europe and beyond and that customers are prepared to spend a bit more to attain complexity from these diverging styles.

One such example is their recent release of US based wine media mogul Gary Vaynerchuk’s (GaryVee) Empathy Wines Rosé from Northern California. Made from Syrah, Pinot Noir, Grenache, Barbera, Tanat, Carignan and Muscat, this deep pink, fruity yet zesty wine sold out within weeks of the pre-sale going live on Vino Mofo. At $30 per bottle, this is a monumental achievement.

It’s no wonder that Australians are tickled pink by rosé at the moment. And given the huge amount of innovation we’re seeing in this sector, I think the Rosé Revolution is still in full swing. And luckily, it’s a fun kind of revolution.