Rosé, seriously
The best rosé are not only refreshing while young but also have the capacity to evolve beautifully, finds tam. Above, winemaker rosana lisa, who makes delicious, ageworthy rosé at lalomba in rioja.
On 26t June 2023 the American Association od Wine Economists tweeted a graph of wine sales by colour in France from 1988 to 2020. It makes for startling graphic. Red-wine sales (ergo consumption, one might deduce) have pretty much crashed from a high of 8 million hl (176 million gallons) in 1994 to under 4 million hl in 2020. White-wine sales have remained pretty steady since 1994 at around 1.75 million hl (38.5 million gallons). Rosé consumption, on the other hand, has risen. From less than 1 million hl (22 million gallons) il 1988, the French consumption of pink wine is up to 3 million hl since 2016 and holding steady. The French are drinking nearly as much pink wine as red. They have tripled their consumption of rosé.
These are serious, sit-up-and-take-notice data. France Agrimer published a report in June 2023 that studied rosé-wine consumption in 45 countries and it’s clear that it’s not only France where we’re seeing colours changing. They report on ‘ “new” rosé wine-making countries … characterized by more than 50% growth in the space of 10 years ‘. Chile and New Zealand lead the charge. In terms of worldwide rosé production, France (35%) and Spain (20%) top the list, the US is third (10%), Italy coming in a very close fourth (9%). Worldwide, rosé consumption is now one in 10 bottles. (In France, it’s on three!)
