Hi. I am in the middle of some research missions and could use some help with your input regarding rose wine.

Some markets have seen a boom in still, light wine rosé sales over the last few years. Others have seen rosé continue as merely a small part of the wine scene. A large number of wineries and a significant number of regions have suddenly started to produce rosé wines where there was little if any local tradition. Many in the wine industry are trying to gauge whether or not the demand for rosé will grow in the years ahead.

1) Besides the south of France and Spain, are there any other popular rose producing areas in Europe you know of? How about in the new world? I am stuck on which countries outside of Europe.
2) Got any favorite brands? Favorite styles?
3) What would you consider some major markets that enjoy Rose wine?
4) Where do you see rose production going in the next 10 years?

Thanks so much.

John,
I was just in the wine shop here in Brooklyn and Copain from California makes a Rose.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by mareff:
John,
I was just in the wine shop here in Brooklyn and Copain from California makes a Rose.

Mike

So far what I am getting on Rose's best production areas are Provence and Navarro, Spain. Where else is it well noted?

Let's not forget Croft's pink port
<giggle>

quote:

So far what I am getting on Rose's best production areas are Provence and Navarro, Spain

John - Navarro is a city. Navarra, is a region, actually a D.O. in northern Spain bordering France on one side and Rioja on the other. Navarra is the rosado area. They had a lot of garnacha and tended to make it into not-very-good wine, but remember that the Franco years were between the 1930s and 1970s, so you can't really say that there was a "tradition" of bad wine, as Spain was not fully integrated into the rest of the world community.

After Rioja got D.O. status, the folks in Navarra wanted to distinguish themselves so they started to incorporate a lot more "international" varietals rather than stick with the tempranillo, manzuelo, graciano, and garnacha of Rioja. They pulled out a lot of the garnacha but more recently have been working with it and making good wine.

And for other rosado wines, try Italy, esp something like Brachetto, there are a few nebbiolo rosados, and look at Cerasuolo.

quote:

Originally posted by John in NYC:
So far what I am getting on Rose's best production areas are Provence and Navarro, Spain. Where else is it well noted?

There isn't much of a market for dry rose here in CA, but it is growing. A lot of top winemakers make small amounts of it, but it's more of a thing they are doing for themselves.

That makes it nearly impossible to find a specific one in the market. But if you browse the shelves(here, at least), sometimes you see one from a great producer. Usually at a pretty good price, too.

The best rose I've ever had was a not commercially released Loring Pinot Noir, which I rated 95 points! The best commercial rose I've had was a Big Basin Syrah, closely followed by Tempier.

Ah, I remember that Loring; DavidN brought it to the foie gras dinner at Paul's IIRC. That was a really nice one.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Tong BBP:
Ah, I remember that Loring; DavidN brought it to the foie gras dinner at Paul's IIRC. That was a really nice one.

Yep. Well, kinda. The foie gras, Loring, Kistler and Suduiraut all stole the show from the CA Cab vs. Bordeaux theme.

Thank you guys and gals so far for your replies.

So far what I am finding interesting about my research on Rose is as follows:

1) Many realize that White Zin (which is on the off-dry side and inexp) is what rose is all about. However, that is just not true. In fact, the better roses are dry. And yes, you can make dry rose with white zin.

2) more and more people are going for rose partly bec of economics and also they are discovering that they go well with many foods, not simply summer wines only

3) The French for many years snarled at Rose but are gaining interest

4) The big rose companies like CLos du Bois, Gallo, Sutter Home, Beringer have the affordability and that marketing power to dominate the market, making it harder for the smaller rose winemakers to stand out.

5) Consumption stats and figures need to be taken with a grain of salt bec. there is no clear delineation bet white zin and dry roses

Any more light any of you can shed on Rose?

1) The word you are looking for is "assume". Also. "White Zin" implies a sweet wine. Dry versions are typically dubbed "Zinfandel Rose", or some such, to distinguish them.

2) I haven't seen any evidence that economics would influence a change of perference to roses.

3) The French were the main hold outs when it was generally considered uncool to drink rose elsewhere.

4) Sure, White Zin's popularity colors the general public's concept of what pink wine is about. But most people think all Riesling is sweet, and Champagne is that cheap nasty crap you are forced to drink at New Year's.

Btw, Sutter Home's first rose was bone dry. The sweetness gradually increased as a response to customer feedback. Sweet wines will always be more popular. Marketing of dry roses differentiates them. But for the most part, it's an organic movement for a niche product.

5) For stats, the only significant domestic producer I can think of is Bonny Doon and their spinoffs. Their volumes are available. For imports, there were a handful of popular sweet rose producers in the '70s. I don't see them any more. Their numbers should be available. Easy math.

But, from what I've seen, the industry does distinguish between dry and sweet roses, so maybe there are accurate numbers available.