As the days begin to cool, the nights start to draw in and many of us return to work, September can often be a time of reflection. In my case it calls to mind many happy occasions when I’ve enjoyed a glass of pale pink wine with friends this summer.

The reinvention of rosé provides an object lesson in innovation for what may in fact be the world’s oldest colour of wine.

If I cast my mind back beyond the summer to my youth I can recall my grandparents serving Rosé d’Anjou at drinks parties. My recollection may be clouded by the few glasses I smuggled out of the room, but I recall this being the colour of under-diluted Ribena and tasting…disappointing.

Going back a little further, it might be argued that Fernando Van Zeller Guedes has a lot to answer for… His company, Sogrape, introduced Portugal’s Mateus rosé to the world in 1942. Throughout the following three decades it enjoyed great success, particularly in the UK and USA, before appetites changed and its popularity declined, possibly taking the reputation of rosé with it.

But look a little closer and the explosive growth of rosé over the last 15 years may owe much to Fernando and his ability to innovate. According to a recent article in The Economist sales of rosé grew by 500% in the UK between 2010 and 2024.

Makers of rosé have built their success in part on their willingness to do things differently to the rest of the wine industry, where ‘heritage’ has perhaps been dominant in the marketing of many brands.

More fundamentally, they have recognised that the taste of the product may play a smaller role than what surrounds it.

At a fundamental level I would argue that unlike most white or red wine, rosé is bought on colour, with an increasing preference among many for a pale pink liquid.

But rosé producers have now gone way beyond this. They have revisited bottle shapes, bottle textures, stoppers, label styles and brand names in ways other winemakers have been reluctant to entertain.

Rosés come in bottles with feminine curves and squat solidity. They come with glass stoppers with plastic seals, as well as traditional corks. They come with different shaped labels in different positions on the bottle. And they lead with names that often have nothing to do with geography or provenance.

The last of these is perhaps best demonstrated by premium rosé brand, Whispering Angel, but is also exemplified by La Dame en Rose and Vive L’Été in the photo.

Upon reflection the spirit of Van Zeller Guedes, with his weird shaped bottle and unusual product from Portugal, lives on in the success of today’s rosés.

And the lesson here? I think it’s a simple one: it may pay to think differently. Narrow definitions of the product or service a business provides, combined with a temptation to compete based on rules set by industry norms and market expectations may inhibit rather than enhance success.

I’ll drink to that!