I’m often asked what the next big thing is in wine. How am I supposed to know? After all, the joy of “the next big thing” is that it seemingly pops up as if from nowhere, and then it’s suddenly absolutely everywhere. Whether or not it then sticks around is anyone’s guess, though.
For instance, last year, I came across a fluted bottle cut into a fish-scale pattern at an Aldi tasting. I’m always a bit cynical when it comes to custom-made glass bottles, especially when they’re heavier than a regular one and ergo worse for the environment. Why not put that extra expense into the quality of the wine itself? Anyway, there was an orange on the label, while the liquid inside was blushing through the glass. The label read “Rosorange”, or a blend of rosé and orange wine, which Aldi claimed was a supermarket first. The bottle, as far as the supermarket was concerned, had done its job, because I was lured in and poured myself a slug.
It wasn’t long before I started seeing the stuff everywhere. Wine communicators who are way more proficient (and, let’s be honest, better) than me were suddenly reviewing rosorange wines left, right and centre. Lucy Hitchcock, whose Partner in Wine TikToks frequently help sell out supermarket ranges, posted her own review of Aldi’s rosorange, which at time of writing has had an incredible 292,000 views.
And it’s not hard to see why: the proposition is intriguing (and the bottle is beautiful). Waitrose has since followed suit by stocking a rosorange of its own, while the other supermarkets doubtlessly have plans to do the same. But why now? Are the big brands trying to attract more orange wine drinkers to rosé, or more rosé drinkers to skin contact?
True, the general winemaking process is not all that dissimilar: an orange wine is the product of extended skin contact in a white wine, and the same is true of rosé, only with red grapes. But the received and expected styles couldn’t be more different. Supermarket rosé drinkers are likely to be after something bone-dry, classic and quality-controlled for casual enjoyment and celebration – no alarms and no surprises. But I get the feeling that the typical orange wine drinker is looking for something a little different: the rise of orange wine, after all, has been synonymous with an exploration of alternative styles, low-intervention winemaking and a love for funkier wines.
So it’s intriguing to see a wine hybrid trying to reconcile these two, arguably very different wine styles and the customers they want to attract. I can’t see lovers of low-intervention styles using this as a way to enjoy mass-market rosé, so perhaps it’s an attempt to introduce the orange wine style to a broader audience (although part of orange wine’s charm has always been in its anti-mainstream quality). The rosorange cuvée is now in its second year at Aldi, but only time will tell if this trend is here to stay.
Four rosorange wines to start you off
Chassaux et Fils Rosorange £9.99 Aldi, 13%. An easy-drinking aperitif. Bone dry, with summer berries and peach.
Côté Mas Rosorange £10 Waitrose, 12.5%. Soft tannins support citrus fruit and quinces. Fresh and crisp.
Passione Natura Sassi Rosato Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo £19 Passione Vino, 13%. Or how about a darker rosé? Biodynamic, with a good tannic structure and sumptuous fruit, this is Passione Vino’s “house rosé”.
Araceli Skin Contact Pinot Grigio Ramato 2022 £27 Renegade Urban Winery, 13%. Or how about an orange wine that’s sunset pink? Unlike any pinot grigio you’ve had before, I’ll bet.