Kiwi wine faces a rose future Just like furniture, we prefer our rose paler these days, writes Ewan Sargent.
Last summer was the summer of rose. So was the one before. This summer will be also the summer of rose. And guess what? This winter is also the winter of rose.
You can’t hide from rose.
It doesn’t care what the weather is, it just keeps getting made and sold in ever-increasing quantities and there’s no end in sight.
Last week, the New World Wine Awards were judged over three days in Wellington, and the entry figures show how this wine is becoming a juggernaut.
The 2018 judges sipped and spat 109 bottles’ worth of the pink wine.
Ten years ago judges had just 18 to try, but about six years ago it was like the fuse of a rocket had been lit.
Entries soared and with 2018’s lineup a third up on 2017, it’s still increasing.
What happened? Cynics might point to the fact Instagram was launched in late 2010 and Kiwis flocked to be on-trend.
Rose is famously the most photographed and photogenic wine in the online world.
Writer Kushbu Shah best explains why on website Thrillist when she wrote: ‘‘Instagram managed to make aesthetics, especially of the romantic, gently washed-out variety, one of the biggest trend-driving forces across nearly every facet of culture.
‘‘Rose, more so than its burgundy and pale yellow brethren, has that trait in droves. It also didn’t hurt that Millennial Pink was coming up as the hue that would take over every aspect of the design world, from restaurant interiors to ad campaigns.’’
Kiwi wine expert Olly Masters agrees that colour is important to rose, but he’s uncomfortable giving it too much credit, especially now.
But then he’s a winemaker at Misha’s Vineyard in Central Otago and has made rose since the 1990s, so would tend to think it’s the flavour that matters most.
‘‘I don’t think there is a direct link [to Instagram] but it is a very visual product as well, so we are affected by the look of it and colour,’’ he says.
Masters is also a New World judge and is talking after finishing the round of sparkling rose tastings.
He thinks the rose boom was helped by timing. We’d had a big wave of sauvignon blanc and people were looking for something different about the same time that rose was becoming a much better wine, with a greater availability of pinot noir grapes.
These are best at producing the classic fresh, red fruit, strawberry roses.
Rose can be made in several ways. Most common in New Zealand is when grapes (usually pinot noir) are pressed, then the skins and other bits are left in the juice for a day or two to add colour before the juice is taken off and fermented.
Another way is to blend white and red wines to make pink.
But back to the colour, something rose can