Tasting from 12.06.2026
Too sweet, too light, too simple: for many years, rosé wines had a terrible reputation. Yet rosé is actually the oldest style of wine. Winemakers in ancient times didn’t distinguish between red and rosé—the light color wasn’t a stylistic choice, but simply the result of their rudimentary winemaking techniques.
Then came Provence. And with it came Sacha Lichine, who in 2006 bought a run-down winery in the hills of the Var—and turned the wine world upside down. At first, the sommeliers wanted nothing to do with him—but he remained undeterred. Today, Château d’Esclans produces Whispering Angel, arguably the world’s most famous rosé wine. In our in-depth profile, Lichine explains what drove him and where he stands after twenty years.
A glance into the cellars of the world shows that rosé is no longer just a Provence affair: Hardly any winery—whether in Styria, Valais, the Palatinate, or Tuscany—now leaves a rosé out of its lineup. How rosé wines are made, what foods they pair with, and who the most influential figures behind them are: we get to the bottom of all this in this special issue.
And then there’s the glamour that surrounds rosé wines in such a special way! We tell the story of the color pink in pop culture and invited Kylie Minogue for an in-depth interview. The pop icon is now also the “Queen of Rosé”—she produces one of the most successful rosé brands of all time.
The centerpiece of this issue is the Falstaff Rosé Trophy, featuring over 850 wines and rosé-colored beverages that were tasted. It clearly demonstrates just how seriously the world now takes rosé. And rightly so.
