When the #champagne becomes pink

The last vogue for Champagne rosé was in the mid-1980s and was created by one man, Allan Cheesman. He suggested to his marketing people that they should emphasize the fact that this particular Champagne had been made by saignée method, where naturally colored juice is bled off the black grapes and fermented, in contrast to the more widely used method of blending in a little red wine to create the desired color. The marketers put their muscle behind it and the wine was a runaway success.

It sparked a trend for rosé and the Champagne industry thought it was onto such a winner that it began boosting production. But the problem with Champagne is that it requires such a long lead time. In 1989, just as the cheapest, youngest new batch of pink Champagne began trickling onto the market, demand began to stall and by 1991, when everyone was ready to release the increased volume, a recession had hit, sales evaporated.

By the late '90s, sales of rosé had plummeted. Gradually sales crept up and now, after 17 years, I think it is safe to say that Champagne rosé is experiencing more than a temporary peak in sales. Almost every producer has at least one rosé in its range. Pink is no longer a fad.

One advantage of rosé becoming a permanent feature is that it has given the Champenois an opportunity to improve the production process. 

But why is Champagne rosé disproportionately expensive?

Following the implosion of the market in 1991, many Champenois put a premium on their sales of Champagne rosé to cover the cost of being left with stock. Currently the difference in cost is roughly 20 percent for non-vintage and anywhere between 50 and 100 percent for iconic prestige cuvées. Initially, it was a simple, precautionary business decision and, if the public wanted rosé under those conditions, they would have to be prepared to pay for it, which they obviously were.

Now, however, after 17 years of steadily growing sales, the Champagne rosé market is no longer the risk it once was and arguably the premiums are no longer warranted, but they will never disappear.