We’re so far into summer right now that people are already talking about how it’s almost over (la la la I can’t hear them la la la). So I don’t have to tell anybody paying attention to wine that the past few months have been all about drinking pink. The public’s thirst for delicious dry rosé has increased immensely over the past few years. And that’s a good thing!
(Some of my favorite rosé wines/ Photo by me)
On a hot summer day by the pool, or at a warm evening BBQ, the mix of fruit and crispness found inside a glass of rosé is the kind of quencher that people of all palates can easily agree upon. Stir that with social media and you now have hashtags like #yeswayrosé, #roséalldamnday and for the millenial men too cool to admit their preference, there’s even #brose.
But have we gone too far? Just as the stigma for drinking pink wines is finally wearing off, is a new one forming that could scare away the serious wine drinker? I don’t think so – but here are a few examples of the budding culture (cult, perhaps?) pushing its way through the summer season:
Two girls from Brooklyn have turned #yeswayrosé into a lifestyle brand – touting t-shirts, nail polish and keychains.
It’s extended to their own Summer Water juice. Even Vogue took notice. (And yes, I’ve certainly contributed to the cause. Who wouldn’t want to subscribe to feeling like you’re floating in a pool all day?)
But they’re not the only social media stars to branch into winemaking for the benefit of fueling the rosé trend. Bloomberg interviewed two guys who are capitalizing on the trend, too: Meet ‘White Girl Rosé,’ the Wine-on-Demand From ‘The Fat Jew’ and ‘White Girl Problems’
And lest you think only women are the target of such trends, 2015 has brought us the summer of brosé. Details Magazine helped spell things out in June with this profile.
Like his counterpart, the much-discussed female whiskey drinker, the rosé bro is inaugurating a freer, more egalitarian world of gender-fluid beverage consumption.
Soon after, writer Felix Salmon (who I always associated with his smart financial tweets) continued the call for men to drink pnk:
Rosé is the ultimate guy drink. It’s dry, it’s unpretentious, it goes with everything: it’s like beer without the constant trips to the bathroom. It’s the perfect drink for any laid-back dude. Next time you see a group of bros dispensing with the Bud Lights and opting instead for a bottle of something pink and Provençal, your only job is to go find yourself a glass. They know exactly what they’re doing.
As I asked earlier, what does this mean for the serious wine drinker? In my opinion, it’s a good thing. It’s a chance to convince my non-wine-drinking friends to imbibe, and a perfect reminder that wine has a light-hearted fun side that’s absolutely perfect for summer.
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