Rosé Port wine ... 15 years later

[Roy Hersh]

It seems like it was yesterday, but in reality it has been just a few months beyond 15 years since the first Pink Port came to be, a category that eventually evolved into Rosé Port.

Adrian Bridge, CEO of The Fladgate Partneship created and marketed Croft Pink Port with Chief winemaker, David Guimaraens and launched it first in the USA on Valentines Day in 2008.

At the time he lobbied the then current IVDP President, while others such as Kopke and Quevedo, (to name just 2 examples) had also released their own versions. The new nomenclature for the category was initially "Light Ruby" which quickly changed to become, Rosé Port.

Today, there are at least 35 unique bottlings of Rosé Port under different labels within this well-established category of Port that was originally marketed to introduce women (in particular) and also appeal to younger people in general, to move away from soft drinks into the adult beverage realm of Port wine.

[A.S. Demka]

Dear Roy,

'appeal to younger people' . Thanks for the compliment! Marguérite and I love to occasionally share a Rosé Port (Croft, Maynard's) with Prosecco with friends on a warm, sunny afternoon. Quite dangerous, as this mix is not very sweet and drinks like lemonade. We keep the real stuff as appetizers or after dinner drinks!

Kind regards, Alle

[Andy Velebil]

While there are some nice Rose Ports, I've never been able to gain an appreciation for them for casual drinking. Perhaps because if I want a light Port I will have a refreshing Port-Tonic instead.

That said, I do remember being in Taylor's blending room back in 2007 and seeing two bottles on the counter. There was one labeled (in-house label, not an official label) as a "Mark and Spencer's Pink Port" and one simply labelled "Rose 17%", in reference to the ABV of it. IIRC, the 17% one was quite a bit darker in color and the M&S was darker than what Pink got released at later. I have a pic of the bottles somewhere in my computer.

[Roy Hersh]

I am not a buyer of this category of Port either, but they are not really trying to pitch us for these.

The one I have liked was Quevedo which provided the greatest mix of balance and flavor. Still not convinced these are for drinking straight up. But with Tonic, they are better ... and by that, I mean the vast majority of the dozen I have tasted. Then again, I prefer White Port Tonics or what I've named, "TTT" Ten year old Tawny Tonics, which I find to be even more appealing than with the use of White Port and tonic.