Rosé wine on the up!

Probably one the most significant trends within the wonderful world of wine in the last couple of years has to be the increase in recognition, popularity and demand for rosé wines.

There are several reasons for this. Rosé wines can vary in colour, from pale to vibrant, ranging from orange through pink or sometimes even purple. These colour variations can be very eye catching and striking. This could be one of the reasons why rosé wines are more popular today.

Rosé wines can also be very refreshing due to their fruity taste and are usually served chilled. This makes them easy to drink and a great introductory wine for people new to drinking wine or has only been drinking wine for a short period of time. This used to mean that they were described as a more summer wine but now people are drinking them all year round and used for many different occasions. The rosé wine is winning over fans from both the red and white wine sections.

Another factor in the rising popularity of these rosé wines is that they can be quite flexible when pairing up with food. Rosé wines have great versatility and can match up with variety of foods and compliment many different meals. This makes it a great wine to serve at the dinner table if each diner has a different dish or if several courses are being served. The reduced tannin levels compared to their red wine counterparts make rosé wines an ideal match for dressed salads, seafood dishes, grilled meats and can even be a great wine used at barbeques.

Many of the well known wine makers have recognised this increasing popularity in rosé wines and are looking to find a place for themselves in an increasingly lucrative marketplace. This can only be a good thing as it means that the quality of rosé wines will keep improving when some of the best wine makers in the world are using their unique and well established wine making techniques to produce these wines. Gone are the days when a simple mixture of red and white wine was used to make rosés or blush wines.

Rosé wines are readily available today. You can find good value wines in your local supermarket or alcohol retailer from wine makers such as Gallo Family Vineyards or Blossom Hill. If you are looking for something a bit more special, there are several rosé wine specialists shops out there or online. If you are really looking to splash out, you could spend around £60 on a bottle of Chateau D’Esclans, Garrus from renowned winemaker Sacha Lachine which is regarded as one of the most expensive and best rosé wines on the planet. This wine is available at Rose-wine.com or on Wine-searcher.com.

Staying in is the new going out?

According to a report in the Scotsman, young Scots are more in favour of having a drink in the house rather than going out to a pub or club.

More and more 18 to 24 year olds are now celebrating special occasions without the need to go going out they attempt to save money in the current economic climate.

This is bad news for venues in Scotland as this age group is traditionally more likely to drink out than any other age group.

Market research by Mintel shows that while across all ages, the average spend on a bottle of wine from a supermarket was around six pounds, the average spend for under 25’s was considerably higher, well over eight pounds.

White wine is people’s drink of choice in the home, having been drunk by 44 per cent of people in the past six months.

Red wine comes a close second on 40 per cent, while rosé wine contributes to 2 per cent. While volume sales of rosé wine rose by 7 per cent and white by 2 per cent, sales of red wine have declined by 3 per cent.