Summer is coming... so is Rosé !

The sunny days are coming, and the rosé wines always follow!

An essential element of every summer season, rosé is an unavoidable symbol of French wine culture. Indeed, we love rosé in France ! But it remains little known and little consumed internationally, we are sometimes surprised by this lack of interest for the product which has already convinced the whole country.

So why should you be interested in this exceptional product ? Everything happens just below !

A bit of history

French legend has it that Rosé was born in Provence, a warm region in the southeast of France. But nothing is less sure… Indeed, it is important to remember that the culture of wine in France begins in 600 B.C, following the introduction of vines by the Greeks when they arrived in Marseille, the famous Phocaean city. This introduction would thus intervene well before that of the Romans, after the Gallic War.

Only we find traces of “rosé” wines already at the time of Ancient Egypt, indeed, it is the Egyptians who consumed red wines which had already rather clear tints, thus giving this impression of purely rosé wine. The Romans called it “Vinum Clarum”. This coloring was indeed the result of crushed grapes, which once rid of its coloring matters (skin, pulp etc..), did not even go through vatting or barrel, which therefore considerably limited the coloring of the product.

So, are the inventors of Rosé the Egyptians, the Greeks, or the Romans? The debate is still open.

An Irish revelation, an Italian curiosity… but a very French product !

The Greeks did indeed produce wine with a light color, but the objective was not to produce “Rosé” as such, but to produce a red wine that would be transportable and available to Greek exiles throughout Europe. Already poorly colored, the wine underwent the addition of pine resin, aromatics or even honey before being contained in watertight amphorae. This clarified the color of the wine even more.

The term rosé will finally be associated for the first time with the color of wine in 1300, by the Irish Jofroi de Waterford in his work Segré de Segrez. It will be taken back in 1373 by the Italian Pietro de Crescenzi in the book IV of his Rustican. The word will then fall into oblivion for nearly 3 centuries, but will be resurrected in 1682 in the vineyard of Argenteuil in the Paris region, whose light-colored wine was prized at the court of Louis XIV. It was the first rosé wine to be officially produced and designated in France, and in the world! The wines of the Jura, Burgundy, Bordeaux and all the other French wine regions followed. Provence, will wait until 1936 for the popular vogue of rosé to take hold of the region. Today, it produces more than 40% of the AOC rosés in France.

Current state of the rosé market

The study of the world consumption of rosé is more than positive, since we can attest that it is constantly increasing, from 19.6 million hectoliters in 2002 to 23.6 million hectoliters in 2019. Rosé wine represents today 10.5% of the wines consumed in the world among other colors and types of wines, a real success! The French are not only the first producers of rosé wine in the world, but are also the first consumers, with an average of 15.1 liters/year/inhabitant. We represent 35% of world consumption, ahead of the United States (15%) and Germany (10%).

The first characteristic of the rosé wine market is the weakness of international trade. However, in recent years there has been an increase in volumes traded, which exceeded 2.5 million hectoliters in 2006. Rosé, unlike red and white wine, is largely consumed in the region or country of production, which is a possible consequence of the lack of international standardization of the product. Thus the main producing countries are also the main consuming countries. The world leader, Provence, exports only 10 to 12% of its rosés, and preferentially to countries bordering France. In this era of globalization of the wine market, competition for rosé wine remains essentially internal to the countries of production.

Why might you like rosé ?

Well, for a thousand and one reasons, yes really! It is undeniably the summer wine par excellence, and will accompany you and delight your spring or summer days and evenings. The best companion one can dream of, or almost.

Above all, rosé is refreshing! When the weather is nice and warm, rosé is more than logical to accompany you in this great moment of relaxation or conviviality. Some will say that it is the white wine, but that is a matter of debate. Then, we must admit that rosé goes with everything, whether it is in dish or in aperitif. Therefore, you will inevitably find the rosé that you like, we are convinced! There are indeed, since the creation of the product (which as we have seen before, goes back a long time) different types of rosés, one of which will surely please you: the intense Rosé; perfect to accompany your summer barbecues, they are aromatic and powerful generally with red fruit aromas. But there are also delicate and fine Rosés; much clearer and delicately perfumed.

You can therefore find your happiness among all these possibilities! Powerful aromas or incomparable finesse, from delicate red fruits to exotic or citrus fruits, sweet sensations worthy of the candies of our childhood, floral notes to spices and aromatics sensations… you can only be convinced!

Our special Wine Palette selection

We’re not going to let you go before making some recommendations on our favorite rosés anyway!

So here is the Wine Palette team’s special selection, for which you will tell us about:

Dune Gris de Gris IGP : The King of all rosés, notes of yellow fruit and citrus on a gorgeous pale color.
The Pieru Corse IGP : Too far from the Isle of Beauty? It will help you to imagine it thanks to its greedy balance and its aromas of red fruits and flowers of scrubland.
L’Arbate Premier Jour IGP : A rosé of young enthusiasts, a success full of summer flavors.
The Rosé Mourat AOC : An original rosé from the Fief Vendéens J.Mourat surrounded by volcanic rock. Inspired by Roman techniques, this rosé is fresh and nervous in the mouth.
Le Domaine des Myrtes AOP : A balance of yellow and exotic fruits in the mouth, a very expressive character to accompany perfectly grills and fish.
Le Collection Vaucluse IGP : A classic and “quiet” rosé, perfect to accompany your aperitifs at the end of the day with family or friends !