Wine experts in France have been surprise at the rocketing sales experienced of rosé wine.
Sales have tripled in the last 10 years, despite connoisseurs long having placed rosé at the bottom of the barrel.
The rise in popularity has been put down to improved quality brought about by new production methods and technology.
Some ascribe it to a change in society with younger French people ignoring the wine’s unsophisticated image.
Wine production in France has also changed. Last year was the first time that a third of wine produced in the country was rosé. This resulted in 650 million litres, some of which was destined for export. Consumption, on the other hand, was much greater at 800 million litres. The shortfall was made up by imports, mostly of Spanish rosé.
More than half the total wine production was red while white wines comprised only some 17%.
For many red wine producers in areas such as Bordeaux, rosé has traditionally been just a by-product, made with pink juice removed from the must, or freshly pressed grapes, to deepen the colour of red wine.
But now many have been responding to the change by gradually shifting more production over to rosé, grateful that it is best drunk young without the need for expensive storage in oak barrels.
Nine out of every 10 wine drinkers in France now have at least an occasional glass of rosé, according to the wine industry.