Remember when people used to roll their eyes when you said you enjoy rosé?
There were comments like how unnecessary it is, a silly by-product of bored winemakers. Some would even say it’s an uncultured, frivolous beverage.
Oh how the world has changed its mind. The last few years has seen a rosé revolution that has made the wine a thriving and very popular category.
The recent announcement by DJ Zinhle on her acquisition of Boulevard Nectar Rosè, the sparkling wine from the Languedoc area in the South of France, has once again reminded us of how rosè is the wine most celebrities and brands want to align themselves with. The businesswoman is now the chief executive of the brand.
In a press release, DJ Zinhle said that she sees great potential for Boulevard Rosè to go to new heights.
“The perfect business acquisition has to share great synergy with who I am, not only as a DJ but as a woman too. I'd like to think I am the perfect mix between power and sophisticated and the Boulevard brand mirrors that nicely.”
Her foray into the world of sparkling wine sees her join a list of some of the world’s biggest names, including Jay Z, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Bonang Matheba, Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola and rapper 50 Cent.
Locally, she joins TV personality Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp, who launched her brand of wines, ElanaWines, in 2014; golfer and restaurateur, Ernie Els who has been producing premium cabernet sauvignon and cabernet based blends since 1999; Olympic gold medallist swimmer, Ryk Neethling, added his own addition to the Val de Vie Estate in Paarl’s exclusive portfolio, with his Ryk Neethling 2016 Premium Blend.
Broadcaster, Tbo Touch has his Touch Reserve wines, while actor and director, Thapelo Mokoena has the aptly named Nero.
It is without a doubt that Zinhle will catapult the Boulevard Rosé brand to stratospheric heights.
She is, however, right on time by aligning herself with a sparkling rosé. The world has been hankering for more rosé and brands are improve their offering of the pink wine.
It’s also interesting how the region where DJ Zinhle’s wine brand is from, the Languedoc region, has seen an increase in the amount of rose is produced.
Languedoc is famous for being the world’s largest wine growing region and produces more than 150 million cases of wine a year. But check this out – more than 250 million of those bottles are rosé.
This makes Languedoc one of the world’s capitals of rosé winemaking.
The sniggers have ended and even the most impossible to please snob has realised that rosé is in demand.
The Drinks Business aptly describes the beverage and why it’s become so popular: “Elegant but unpretentious, rosé is a wine with crossover appeal. A mid point between the freshness of whites and depth of reds, its ability to pair with an array of cuisines makes it one of the most versatile food wines around, and its associations with lazy summer days in southern France adds to its appeal, especially at a time when air travel feels like a distant dream.”
And that’s exactly it. It transports you to light summer days, where there’s endless sunshine, a cool breeze and if you are lucky, near some water.
That’s why we have seen more rosé brands being launched over the years and many celebrities, like Post Malone, Cameron Diaz, Kylie Minogue, and Mary J Blige also jumping on the bandwagon, all launching their rosé brands this year.
Even the storied wine houses have realised how in demand the beverage is, making sure that they aggressively promote their pink wine more often than they did a few years ago.
It’s worth noting that even though the demand for pink wine is increasing, it’s not new.
Sommelier and author, Victoria James detailed in her book Drink Pink: A Celebration of Rosé about how the ancient Greeks settled in the South of France and starting planting grapevines.
“And since that fateful first planting, rosé has remained in vogue in the region, and eventually became loved around the world. Rosé has been around since the beginning of wine.”
It’s worth recalling what Post Malone said when he launched his wine: "Rosé is for When You Want to Get a Little Fancy.“
We couldn’t agree more.