Surrendering to the pink: Marketing dry rose to a white Zinfandel nation

Wines & Vines, May, 2001 by Tina Caputo

"Initially, the wine was an extremely difficult sell," Grahm remembers. "It has taken a while for the market to get more sophisticated. We should be, in principle, the world's most dominant dry pink wine producer were it not for the fact that a lot of other producers had the same idea."

Though Bonny Doon hasn't yet taken over the rose world, Grahm annually produces a healthy 5,000-6,000 cases of his popular pink wine.

"The real challenge is selling it to White Zinfandel drinkers," Grahm says. "The received wisdom is that it cannot be done but I have seen ample evidence to the contrary. The White Zinfandel drinker must be very carefully and calmly told that no, we don't carry White Zinfandel but we do have a very lovely, dry rose which is extremely fruity but bone dry. As long as the customer is mentally prepared for the fact that the wine will be dry, quite often he or she will be able to get his or her head around it. If they are served a dry wine, expecting it to be sweet, it is a negative surprise."

Selling dry pinks to non-blush drinkers is another story. Marketing wine to this group, Grahm says, means never having to say you're sorry.

"Here's what I tell restaurateurs who operate in warmer Mediterranean climates and who want to sell lots of pink wine: Don't apologize for it as a category," he says. "Embrace it, celebrate it and most of all, have many representatives of its class on the list. This may be a little counterintuitive for many, but if there are only one or two dry pink wines on a list, they can easily be overlooked and passed by. If there are 10 or 12 or 15, customers will have to take the category seriously and will believe that they are likely missing out on something special if they pass it by."

John Hardman, executive director of the Rhone Rangers, also believes that restaurants are perfect places to cultivate pink wine converts.

"Let's face it, there is not the same profit margin for rose that there is on Cabernet Sauvignon," says Hardman. "But wines like rose are often referred to as 'chateau le cash-flow' and for wine-by-the-glass, restaurants can offer an agreeable bargain and still turn a reasonable profit. Innovative restaurants that offer seasonal spring and summer menus with good quality dry rose by the glass, educate their servers and encourage their patrons to give it a try will find it works for everyone."

Whatever marketing strategy these winemakers use, let's hope they keep producing and plugging those ravishing roses. I can't think of a better quaff on a warm, sunny day-- and why should we let the French have all the fun?