A Rosé by any other name... The New Aesthetics of Rosé Wines
Over the past 20 years, rosé wine has risen exponentially in popularity and production. According to Nielsen statistics, US rosé sales are rising 40% year on year, with global wine market share of rosé now at 10%. Considered in the past as a drink for those who do not usually consume wine, or as a ‘summer tipple’, with highly gendered connotations, rosé has certainly not attracted the same aesthetic interest as red or white wines. Yet now, established wine critics have changed their position on rosé wines. Their opinions have validated rosé as a wine with more complexity and value – both cultural and economic – than previously recognized by many wine consumers. There is also significant endorsement of pale, dry Provence-style rosé wine by celebrity ‘producers’ including actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (Miraval, Provence), and rocker Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse (Hampton Water, Languedoc) who make their wine with Gérard Bertrand, ex-rugby star and owner of many châteaux, including Château l’Hospitalet, renowned for its summer jazz festival. However, it is the younger Millennials or Generation Y (people born between 1980-2000) who have really led the charge towards rosé. This paper explores the new aesthetics of rosé for each of these demographics, focusing especially on the visual perceptions (wine colour, packaging) and sensory appreciation (smell, tastings) of Milliennial consumers. In conclusion, I will present some preliminary findings of my research undertaken with an emerging category of wine consumers – Generation Z (aged between 18-25 years).
Jacqueline Dutton, University of Melbourne
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Queensland Grown & Made Rosé
Hi Jackie. A really interesting paper on one of the major shifts in wine taste over the last decade. The Australian consumption and production of rose has increased significantly and has been accompanied by a shift in the styles of rose produced in Australia from sweet lolly bombs, often produced from the least quality grapes, to paler and drier styles of rose.
At the same time the growth in the popularity of rose has happened at a time when there has been a relatively slowing down, and over the last few years, decline in the overall levels of wine consumption, according to a workshop I attended last year in Sydney by leading global wine market research company, Wine Intelligence. There has also been a relative decline in the amount of alcohol being consumed by younger age cohorts as they shifted to craft beer and to spirit based beverages.
There was also an indication that there has been a major generational shift in how younger age cohorts were engaging with wine and wine culture. They were finding that younger age cohorts had less technical knowledge of wine styles, wine regiosn and wine varieties but ironically rated their wine knowledge higher than baby boomers and gen X because, as digital natives, they knew that they could find the information online. Wine knowledge is not something you acquired as part of your cultural capital (winery visits, wine courses, masterclasses etc) but is accessed and experienced.
With this in mind, I am curious to see how the growing popularity can be understood? Is it popular because it is relatively cheap and easy to drink and suitable for the more casual and informal forms of hospitality that people under the age of 40 enjoy? Is it easier to purchase because it is a style of beverage where you don't have to worry about grape variety and location?
I look forward to reading the final paper in the future.