It’s almost Memorial Day so of course I’m wondering, exactly how did rosé rise to total warm-weather ownership? Click through for a trip down memory lane, from 1980–now.
Last year rosé was on everyone’s minds and this year seems no different. Aside from counting down the days until I can sip a glass of Whispering Angel on the beaches of Montauk, I’ve also developed an interest in exactly how rosé became the queen bee of the wine industry. So let’s reminisce.
1980
Your Mom is out for drinks with her girlfriends and they order glasses of “white zinfandel.” The name for that dark pink wine varietal is never spoken again by any millennial.
1985
A 21 year old enters a bar for the first time, panics and orders a white zinfandel thinking, “If Mom drinks it, it must be okay…” The sweetness acts as a gateway into a broader spectrum of wines for newly legal drinkers across the US.
1990
Beverage industry movers and shakers pick up on the rise of rosé happening across the pond. History proves that most European beverage trends hit NYC markets about 3 years later.
1992
The first rosé wine is produced in Long Island by Wolffer Estate.
1993–2013
Many summer parties, charity events, etc. are thrown in major US beach towns and cities where the wine is flowing and people start falling in love with rosé.
2014
The New York Post releases an article announcing that the Hamptons are running “dangerously low” on rosé—chaos ensues!
TODAY
Now we are #blessed with many Instagram accounts such as #roséallday, the infamous White Girl Rosé brand from The Fat Jewish and countless events where we can all get together and celebrate the peak of our love of rosé.
ENTER
Pierrick Bouquet. You know when you have that moment of “why didn’t I think of that?” This guy symbolizes everything about that statement. What do millennials love more than drinking rosé? The answer is drinking rosé in the presence of yachts, picnics and music festivals. Pierrick launched America’s first rosé wine festival, La Nuit en Rosé in 2014. The event invites attendees to set sail around NYC aboard a 200-foot yacht while enjoying wine, food, beauty services, entertainment and fashion. Tickets are available now, June 9–11. Our client, Chandon (MHUSA), will be hosting a lounge onboard, which is one of the many reasons we love them. This year, Pierrick took the success of La Nuit en Rosé and ran with it—straight to the music festival loving millennials with the launch of Pinknic. From July 9–10 you can picnic on Governor’s Island, which will be bathed in four thousand pink-hued designer blankets. Dress code is pink and white, gourmet picnic baskets can be pre-ordered from celebrity chef Chris Santos and DJ sets and performances will be happening all weekend. So on the eve of the unofficial holiday weekend of rosé, let’s raise our glasses. To the death of white zinfandel, and the continued rise of #roséallday.
