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Howard W. Hewitt

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Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Vine & Table

Hoosiers Loving Dry Rose’

02 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by Howard in France, Uncategorized

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Dry Rose', Provence, RNDC, The Wine Shop, Vine & Table

Brian Borlick, in a nifty pink shirt and slacks, was in constant motion grabbing bottles, pouring pink wine, and talking deals.

Borlick is Premium Division Manager for Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) in Indianapolis. He is also known within the Indy wine world as RNDC’s Rose’ guy.

Indiana Rose’ sales climbed 99 percent as of February, ending a 12-month period. Staggering! National sales increased 64 percent over the same time period, according to Nielson statistics.

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Borlick

“I remember we had a tasting 13 years ago,” Borlick said at a recent event for industry insiders and buyers. “We had 18 wines and about four people showed up. The last two years we’ve had over 100 wines and more than 100 people came to taste.”

Borlick noted that supermarkets, small restaurants, and maybe even Hoosiers were slow to the pink wine love affair – but not anymore. “Even restaurants in small towns are pouring by the glass,” he said. “All supermarkets have at least a few Rose’ wines.”

Gooley, manager and wine buyer for three Indianapolis retail stores under the Vine & Table banner, believes acceptance of dry pink wine is a generational issue. “I think it’s the baby boomers getting over the fact they’re not sweet,” he said. “We grew up with white zinfandel and still a lot of people have the idea if it’s pink it’s sweet. I also think we have a millennial generation willing to trust us and when they come in and we say it’s dry they buy it. I think we’ve done a good job of convincing people that dry rose is the red wine drinkers’ white wine.”

Borlick was like most Americans a little more than a decade ago. He thought of Rose’ as a coyingly sweet pink wine. “Then I went to France for the first time in 1999 and was force fed some Rose,” he joked. “I was planning not to like it but loved it. The French drink it for lunch and dinner.”

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Gooley

Most alcohol distributors certainly have Rose’ in their portfolio but RNDC is one of, if not, the biggest in Indiana. The dry pink now appeals to consumers of all ages but is particularly driven by the younger millennial generation.

“People used to go into wine shops and see 10 roses now they see 50 – people see that and think they must get in on this,” Gooley said. “Most rose’ sells between $10-$25. That fits with the rest of the retail market that’s had a great increase in that price range.”

Wine wholesalers and retailers do worry about a pink over saturation. “Rose’ sales are going to continue to grow but maybe not the same as past years,” Borlick said. “Now, every winery and an uncle are making a Rose’.”

Gooley agreed with his distributor’s comments. “We’re now in a position where consumers are going to get some substandard roses and poor quality. They’re are going to find things in lower price points that are not going to last a year or year and a half in the bottle and then are going to think I don’t like Rose. But they spent $5 on it.”

The most popular Rose’ is the lighter color and lighter palate of Provence Rose, the redder and more palate dominating Rose’s of France’s Rhone Valley and Tavel retain traditional popularity

Many credit the growth to Rose’ rise to powerhouse labels like Chateau d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel, the world’s most popular Rose, which has released 3.2 million bottle vintages in recent years. One of the other celebrity-driven but nice drinking Rose’ wines is Chateau Miraval. Insiders know actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie invested $67 million in the estate in 2008. Both wines sell for $19.99 to mid-$20 range.

Too often specific wines can be hard to find. But most reputable wine shops or even liquor stores have a wide selection. Look for Rose’ of Pinot Noir from the West Coast, Oregon or California, and pink from Provence or Southern France.

 

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White Zin’s Lasting Damage

22 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by Howard in Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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Dry Rose', pink wine, Provence Rosé, Vine & Table

The California mega-wine producers of the late 1970s and early 1980s did the wine industry a great favor and terrible injustice.

At a time when not much of anyone was drinking wine, California winemakers came up with something called “White Zinfandel.” The pink wine was refreshing and sugary. Think of it as a bowl of frosted cornflakes or Fruit Loops in a glass.

grape-sense-logoWhite Zinfandel is a punch line today for uneducated palates and super sweet pink juice. Still, many will quickly tell you that the pink was a populist wine winner that got Americans drinking wine. That’s all true but things have changed.

Most American’s moved from White Zinfandel to Chardonnay and then the 1976 Judgement of Paris proved California red wines were just as good as the world’s best. American’s palates evolved a lot in the 70s and 80s.

In keeping with the 2017 theme of trying new things, if you haven’t been drinking dry rose’ then it’s time for you to catch up.

It wasn’t long ago anything pink would be laughed off the shelves at places like Carmel, Indiana’s Vine and Table wine shop. But over the last ten years rosé wine sales have exploded. That explosion has been led by southern France’s Provence wine region.

Provence sales have increased over the past decade by double digits annually. But sales exploded in 2015 to more than a 50 percent increase.

“Every year it seems to increase. Last year we did close to 3 palates of rose between March and October,” said Brendan Kennedy, wine buyer for Vine and Table. “It definitely dies down after October but it does seem to increase every year, definitely.”

roseWhy the huge boom in sales? Rosé wines offer a flexibility for serious and casual wine drinkers. “I love it with food and it is great on its own as a backyard patio wine,” Kennedy said. “But there are still a lot of people out there who are very scared of the pink wine because White Zin gave it a very bad name.”

Kennedy calls on the wine’s versatility when pitching it to customers. “It’s a fun wine to drink on its own but pairing it kicks the door wide open. You might not pair rosé with red meats but white meats, fish, chicken, and salad – it goes great.”

Vine and Table, and other prominent Indiana retail wine shops are featuring rosé wines in their spring and summer tasting events.

With a rosé sales explosion some would expect consumers to climb the price ladder but that’s not necessarily so. Kennedy explained if consumers are used to buying a $15-$20 bottle of wine they’re probably going to stay in that range for rosé. And make no mistake, great pink wines are available in that price range. But another $10 on that price tag delivers an even bigger reward.

“I always try to push people’s limits with rosé because they think it’s sort of a plain and simple wine but once you get into the Sanceres they’re complex, really a lot going on, and they have nice acidity. I think if you try some of those higher end rosés you’ll be rewarded for it.”

Provence rosé is made from a blend of traditional southern France grapes. Most of the best U.S. rosé wines are often 100 percent Pinot Noir.

Want some higher end names? Try Domaine Ott, Miraval, and Domaine Tempier. Those are great Provence names. Better wine shops will have a few of the Sancerre wines Kennedy mentioned. Most will retail $20-$30. A personal favorite is California’s Sonoma County’s Raymond Vineyards rose’.

There is nothing wrong if your think pink is White Zin in 2017 but try thinking pink with a dry rose’ and enjoy the delightful difference.

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