Tipples that came tops in SA's first-ever rosé wine competition

Need a new summertime tipple? Try out these winning wines from the inaugural Rosé Rocks competition

If Louis Gossett Jr and that beer advert are to be believed, men “don’t drink pink drinks”. When it comes to the world of wine, though, he’d be wrong.

Worldwide, the demand for Rosé-style wine is booming, with figures from the United States suggesting that the category is growing 10 times faster than the average for table wine.

Far from being the poor cousin of the cellar, “pink wine production is now seen as a serious business around the world,” wine critic and judge Jancis Robinson, MW (master of wine), noted in the Financial Times earlier this year.

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Locally the category is gathering steam, too, and sales have trebled over the past seven years. You’ll also find a growing range of rosés on the shelves of wine boutiques as vintners explore the wine style that’s an ideal match for our hot summer days.

Tapping into the rapid rise of the “pink drink”, South Africa’s first wine competition devoted purely to Rosé-style wines was launched earlier this year, with the results announced in early October.

The inaugural Rosé Rocks competition saw over 160 wines entered across five categories, from dry rosé to “sweet stickies”. The competition also included Rosé-style Méthode Cap Classique bubblies, with a panel of seven wine critics, buyers and sommeliers judging the entries.

“The standard of the winning wines are outstanding. South Africa is now making world-class rosé wine,” commented Allan Mullins, respected wine critic and chairman of the judging panel, who noted that “the majority of the wines which were entered into the competition were dry, and this reflects the type of rosé wines consumers are increasingly buying”.

The overall winner was the Tamboerskloof Katharien Syrah Rosé 2015, a salmon-coloured rosé from the farm Kleinood above Stellenbosch. It’s made from Shiraz grapes, and you’ll find strawberry, melon and a delicate spiciness on the palate. It’s a superb example of just how good rosé can be.

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ALL THE WINNERS

Overall winner: Tamboerskloof Katharien Syrah Rosé 2015

Brampton Rosé 2015

Eagle’s Cliff Shiraz Rosé 2015

Fat Bastard Pinot Noir Rosé 2014

Noble Hill Mourvèdre Rosé 2015

Noble Savage Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2015

Arabella Pink Panacea

Signal Gun Rosé 2015

Warwick The First Lady Dry Rosé 2015

Slanghoek Vinay Rosé Natural Sweet 2015

This article was originally published in Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Cape Town. Visit yourneighbourhood.co.za, like YourNeighbourhoodZA on Facebook and follow YourHoodZA on Twitter.