Fifty shades of Rosé

What makes a great wine? And who could even say?

Not long ago, only a few experts claimed the right to answer this question, and they reserved their critiques for reds or whites. Rosé was left out, as the most influential critics, including the famous Robert Parker, dismissed it as not even being a real wine.

That was until 2013. Château Miraval, which gained fame thanks to its glamorous owners Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, unexpectedly entered the Wine Spectator’s top 100 list. Here was the first rosé to claim a spot among the “100 Best Wines in the World.” This marked a small revolution in the wine world, once again led by Americans.

Since then, rosé has become ubiquitous: from camping coolers to trendy terraces, from casual barbecues to chic parties, from “wine afterwork” to summer picnics, and from the smallest to the grandest tables. How did rosé, once seen merely as a marketing color, become a true wine? A wine mostly consumed in summer, primarily as an aperitif, and notably not meant for aging… in stark contrast to the characteristics of a good red—tannic and more challenging—or a good white, admired for its acidity and left to age gracefully. Rosé, in essence, was considered anything but serious.

Have consumer tastes evolved, or has the profile of these wines changed? Has the psychology of the former or the physiology of the latter shifted? Or has the profile of the buyers themselves changed? We set out to investigate this palate revolution between France and the United States.