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Occitanie rosé in the pink as UK market dries up

Published:  26 June, 2018

Sales of rosé wines from the South of France are in the pink despite rosé’s waning popularity across Britain, according to wine producers from the Occitanie region.

Value sales of rosé through UK supermarkets dipped 0.1% in 2017 – red and white were up 3.7% and 4.8% respectively – according to Kantar Worldpanel.

But figures from producers from Occitanie suggest consumption of rosé from the South of France has surged by more than a quarter as drinkers seek out more sophisticated, drier and paler pink wines.

“The rosé category as a whole in the UK is suffering, however the consumption of dry rosé and particularly the ones from the South of France are growing dramatically with an increase of 26% over last year,” said head of La Maison de la Région Occitanie Isabelle Kanaan.

“There is real shift in consumption habits - traditionally with women drinking rosé wines, whilst men ignored it as it was seen as too feminine. Today more and more men enjoy a good glass of dry, pale rosé.”

One in 10 wines showcased at the Sud de France UK annual tasting earlier this month were rosé, up from 6% of wines in 2017 and just 1% in 2016. Nearly every producer chose to present a rosé at this year’s tasting.

“The producers are confident in showing rosé which is pioneering in style, high in quality, and still proudly reflecting their individual terroir,” added Kanaan. “There is a rosé for celebratory drinking through to everyday enjoyment.”

Occitanie is the world’s largest wine producing region, covering 260,000 hectares of vines that span from Languedoc and Roussillon to parts of the Rhone Valley and the Southwest of France.

Languedoc is the biggest producer of rosé, producing 320 million bottles a year. Production has increased by 35% since 2010. The UK consumes 5% of the world’s output of rosé wine, according to La Région Occitanie.




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