The first heatwave of the year had just swept through the Cape Winelands, and I found myself trying to hide from it beside the majestic Berg River. A poorly timed nap next to the river left me sunburnt and quite red, with the only solace I could find was a lukewarm beer. As I sat there, flushed and flustered, my mind wandered to a more elegant remedy, a glass of ice-cold, bone-dry rosé. That once-maligned stepchild of the wine world now seemed like the perfect antidote to my misfortune.
Rosé has come a long way from its reputation as the drink of choice for wine novices and WHOO! girls (2010’s slang for a particular type of person that gets especially rowdy after some overindulgence in wine). Once dismissed as frivolous or overly sweet, it now commands serious attention from winemakers, sommeliers, and consumers alike. Despite a slight decline since its 2019 peak, global rosé consumption reached 18.5 million hectolitres in 2023. The annual decrease of 1.7% is relatively modest compared to the 3.8% drop recorded for still wines overall. Interestingly, rosé’s market share grew from 8.8% in 2020 to 10.1% in 2024, signalling a slow but steady climb in relevance.
Europe remains the undisputed leader, accounting for a staggering 72% of global rosé consumption. North America follows with 17%, and Asia-Pacific trails at 7%. France alone contributed 33% of global rosé production in 2022, up from 30% the previous year. Spain (21%), Italy (11%), the United States (8%), and South Africa (5%) round out the top five producers.
Supermarkets remain the dominant sales channel, responsible for about 60% of rosé purchases globally.
One of the most telling shifts in the rosé market is demographic. Millennials now make up 40% of rosé consumers, drawn to its freshness, versatility, and Instagram-worthy hues. Older drinkers, however, still harbour scepticism toward premium rosé, often associating it with its once-sugary, mass-market past. But the tide is turning, especially in the United States, where premium and innovative rosés are gaining traction. American consumers are increasingly seeking out bone-dry, high-quality rosés that reflect terroir and craftsmanship.
Rosé’s diversity isn’t just in its flavour profiles or branding, it’s also in how it’s made. There are three primary methods of rosé production, each with its own philosophy and impact on the final wine.
The Saignée (French for “bleeding”) method is a winemaker’s trick to intensify red wine. When red grapes are crushed, a portion of the juice is “bled off” early in the maceration process to improve the skin-to-juice ratio in the remaining red wine. The bled-off juice, lightly tinted and full of flavour, is then fermented separately into rosé. This method is especially useful for cultivars like Pinot Noir or Cinsault, which sometimes struggle with colour intensity. Saignée rosés tend to be bold, structured, and complex.
This is the traditional approach, especially favoured in Provence. Red grapes are crushed and allowed to rest on their skins for a few hours, just long enough to extract a hint of colour and flavour. The juice is then pressed and fermented as rosé. This method produces elegant, pale rosés with delicate aromas and crisp acidity. It’s the preferred technique for most premium rosés worldwide and is the hallmark of the Provençal style.
The most controversial of the three, blending involves mixing a small amount of red wine into white wine to achieve a pink hue. While frowned upon by purists, this method is legal in many regions and is often used to produce large volumes of inexpensive, sweet rosé. However, blending isn’t inherently inferior, when done in reverse (adding white wine to red), it’s the foundation of some of the world’s most revered wines, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Rhône-style reds.
Cultivar choice also plays an important role in Rose, not just any red grapes will do. What you are traditionally looking for are cultivars with very fruit forward character such as Shiraz, Cinsualt, Grenache etc. You would usually try and stay away from the more herbaceous cultivars such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as these herbaceous characters are more shelf stable and tend to overpower the taste in older Rose’s as one loses a lot of the fresh fruit character. This is of course open to local tastes and I have found that in some markets a little herbaceousness in the Rose is seen as a positive.
Let this summer bloom, slip into your flowered dresses and floral shirts, raise a glass of spirit-lifting rosé, and toast to new friendships, sunlit days, and a season painted in joyful shades of pink.
Articles