A reminder...
Leanne De Bortoli and Steve Webber of De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley are hoping for what they call a Rosé Revolution. Reading between the lines, they want to see dry styles of rosé gain ground in Australia although they would like to see lovers of the style, wherever they are, participating in their inaugural Rosé Day, a major celebration of dry pink wine on Tuesday 30 Nov. They want as many people as possible – producers, consumers, retailers, restaurants, bars, sommeliers – to join in. The aim is to encourage the production and appreciation of more 'serious' styles of rosé that conform to their definition: 'dry, textural made-for-purpose rosé' (as opposed to the more commercial sweetened up blends and offcuts of red winemaking).
They already have more than 60 wineries signed up to rosewinerevolution.com, with more coming on daily (including some non-Australian ones already). Tuesday 30 Nov is apparently the last day of spring in Australia (hard for us northern hemisphere dwellers to comprehend) and is to be the official 'Taste and Tweet Rosé Day'. They hope that as many wine lovers as possible will get involved and organise their own celebrations, events and tastings.
Leanne De Bortoli writes: 'For the last few years, Steve and I have been totally committed to premium rosé and we are not alone. We love the wines of Tempier and many other producers in Bandol and Provence. We love that rosé can be frivolous and serious at the same time. Give us a rosé that is pale in colour, savoury, dry and textural. Terrific wine for a sunny day but equally enjoyable in winter.
'It can be confusing for consumers to know which are the quality rosés, wines with a sense of purpose rather than being an afterthought, singularly sweet and irritatingly bright pink. Basically we are trying to promote rosé for grown ups – dry, savoury, textural, preferably pale, serious but not to be taken too seriously. It can be made from single varieties or blended; made from varieties like Pinot Noir, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah,Cabernet, Sangiovese or Nebbiolo, but what they have in common is that they are interesting and eminently quaffable.
'Why focus on pale, dry and savoury rosé? The goal is to make it easy for consumers when they are purchasing a rosé to know what to expect. A rosé which is paler in colour should signify a dry, textural, balanced wine. Let the very pink and iridescent colours speak their own message. Are you sensing a theme here? Help to bring the rosé revolution to consumers around the world...
'30 Nov will be a day devoted to focusing on rosés and communicating the style with a live tweet up between 7 and 8.30 pm [the not very convenient 8-9.30 am London time and arguably even less convenient 3-4.30 am New York time – perhaps the tweeting can take place over 24 hours?]. Grab your favourite dry rosés and get involved by tasting and tweeting, using the hashtag #roserev. Register your involvement on http://RoseRevolution.eventbrite.com/ '
For more information, either sign up to one or all of the addresses above and below, or contact Leanne De Bortoli direct at rose_revolution@debortoli.com.au or call (03) 5965 2271.
Although this initiative is only two months in the making, their Facebook page how has over 650 followers and the Twitter page over 700 followers.
Website http://rosewinerevolution.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RoseWineRevolution
Twitter http://twitter.com/RoseWineRev
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