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It鈥檚 no secret that pale, dry Provence ros茅s have been the drink of the summer for the past few years. In fact, while the rest of us were locked away throughout 2020 and half of 2021, ros茅 sales were soaring 鈥� with trendsetting bars across the UK now diversifying their ros茅 offering to alternative regions, more structured and age-worthy options, and even non-conventional ros茅s that tilt more towards chilled reds.

We caught up with our wine trading director, Harriet Kininmonth, for a quickfire chat about all things pink.

How has the ros茅 category developed?

鈥淲hen I first started my career in wine 13 years ago, I seem to remember that Anjou ros茅 was selling more than Provence鈥� ros茅 back then was few and far between, and came in all sorts of colours, but we didn鈥檛 sell huge amounts, and when we did, it was very much slanted on seasonality.

Since then, I鈥檝e seen the category grow and premiumise exponentially, with Provence ros茅 very much at the helm. Producers have reacted quickly to the demand for paler, lighter styles, and we鈥檝e of course seen a number of super-premium branded Provence ros茅s such as Whispering Angel enter the market. Ros茅 wine can dazzle when well-packaged, and is seen by many consumers as a very sociable drink. This is supported by the huge number of producers choosing to bottle their ros茅 in large formats. For me, ros茅 in large format is my party pour of choice. It鈥檚 showy but not overly decadent and it looks and tastes fantastic.鈥�

We鈥檙e seeing more customers order ros茅 wines across the winter months 鈥� what styles do you think will be more popular as a result?

鈥淯ltimately, ros茅 tastes good all year round so there is no reason not to drink it in the winter, even if we tend to associate it more with the summer months. Ros茅 can be a great food pairing, particularly with dishes such as tapas or spicy dishes. Given we tend to eat richer styles of food during the winter, I expect we will start to see more deeper coloured and richer styles emerging onto the market, capable of standing up to more substantial meals. I鈥檝e seen some good examples from Spain and the Rhone enter the market recently, and we are starting to see some excellent Pinot Noir examples from England, which is very exciting.鈥�

Do you think the pale pink style will continue to be popular, or will darker styles come back in fashion again?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the pale styles are going anywhere fast, but certainly at the premium end, I believe that consumers are becoming more open to exploring what else the ros茅 category can offer 鈥� which includes some darker, richer styles. However, education is key as many consumers associate darker styles with sweeter styles, which is simply not always the case, particularly at the premium end, so this development will require a hand-sell in order to educate the consumer.鈥�

With English red wines becoming more popular, do you think we can expect to see more English ros茅s in future years?

鈥淚鈥檝e tasted some outstanding English ros茅s in the last few years and look forward to seeing more. A notable example is Balfour鈥檚 Nannette鈥檚 ros茅; complex and Provencal in style with hints of lemon, thyme and rosemary. Obviously, we are often bound by weather, but in the warmer vintages, I expect many winemakers will continue to experiment with ros茅 given the consumer demand.鈥�

Have you come across any unusual or unexpected ros茅s recently?

鈥淚 think the trend of orange wine, and people experimenting with varying degrees of maceration and tannins, creates a blurred line between pale reds, orange and ros茅, and I鈥檝e tasted a fantastic example from South Africa recently.鈥�

To celebrate all things pink, we鈥檙e pulling together the best blush wines from our portfolio to make up The Pink List, packed full of everything you need to make sure your ros茅 range is in tip-top shape for 2022 and beyond. Keep an eye out for the list, landing soon!