As the weather turns from brain-melting to bearable, your thoughts might turn toward having picnics, barbecues, and hanging out on somebody’s terrace. The perfect companion to your afternoon satay? Wave away the inevitable Singha-on-the-rocks and think pink instead.

Once the derided stepchild of the wine world, rosé is now coming into its own as a semi-acceptable accompaniment to “difficult” cuisines that are heavy on spices and in wine-unfriendly conditions like hot weather. While this might sound perfect for Thailand, the reality is that more than three-quarters of all wine sold here is red, whereas rosé sales are barely a drop in the bucket. 

And yet, Davide Vacchiotti, export manager at Italian Fine Wines, says, “In this weather, physically, it makes more sense to have rosé than red.”

Close to home

At least one local producer believes that there is more potential for rosé wines here. Monsoon Valley recently introduced a second rosé to its range. This limited edition “white shiraz” is pressed from red shiraz grapes, crafting a citrus flavor with the oomph of red fruits—what the local winemaker hopes displays the best characteristics of both red and white wines, according to Kim Wachtveitl, director of business development at Siam Winery Trading Plus, Monsoon Valley’s distributor. “Drink it as an aperitif, with various cold appetizers, especially seafood.”

Simply mixing red and white wines together is increasingly frowned upon by winemakers. In fact, rosé’s blush color comes from letting the skins of any type of red wine grape stay in contact with the juice for only a very short period of time. (Wine color comes from the skins.) By contrast, the skins of red wine grapes, aided by the twin forces of alcohol and temperature, can stay in contact with the juice for days and impart a deep ruby color to red wine.

Is pink the new white?

In France, consumers now drink more rosé wine than white wine. In the US, Sutter Home Winery has been making a “white zinfandel” rosé since 1973. It now sells millions of cases of the fruity pink liquid every year. Rosé wines have become hugely popular in the UK, and Kim of Siam Winery estimates that bottles of the pink take up 20 percent of the shelf space there. 

We’re not exactly a wine-drinking country, so it’s no surprise that we’ve arrived late to the pink party. “Rosé wines are not popular in Thailand,” says Marie Capolli of Wine Connection.
“This is probably because of the Thai preference for dark red wines,” Ron Batori, president of Bangkok Beer & Beverages (BB&B) confims. “In Thailand it is foreigners who enjoy them, mostly in resort destinations.”

In addition to consumer preference, there are reasons why rosé wines are at a disadvantage here. Italian Fine Wines’ Vacchiotti says delicate rosé suffers from too much heat and has a relatively short shelf life of 8-12 months.

“The number of cheap good white wines is far bigger than the number of cheap good roses,” said Philippe Bramaz, a wine consultant based in Bangkok. But “rosé when done in the right way is funky to drink, easy going and great for a party,” he added.

Bangkok’s handful of wine distributors and resident winemakers are betting that once rosé catches on, Thais will drink it with as much gusto as current favorites like merlot or chardonnay. BB&B has seen a 20 percent increase in sales of rosé wines compared with last year. Monsoon Valley expects rosé will grab 15 percent of the total Thai wine market in 2008, up from 8 percent this year.

For its part, Italian Fine Wines is bringing four rose wines to Bangkok shelves in mid-December. Customers, particularly younger women, are drawn to “something that is lighter, has lower alcohol,” said Vacchiotti. And “in case you didn’t notice, anything that is pink sells pretty well.”