The Wine Fact Center

Australia has long been considered a big player in the global wine industry and this has to a large extent been down to its ideal grape growing conditions. However, Fiji and New Zealand have also come onto the scene in recent years and has increased their market share largely as a result of their flexible wine producing policies.

There was recent debate about the moral ramifications about being able to produce rosé by blending white and red together. Classically rosé has been made by removing the white juice mixture from the red grape skins at just the right time so that it doesn’t absorb so much of the colour. However, just mixing small quantities of red wine into white is the method that has seen a massive rise in popularity recently…a result of the recession forcing cheaper production methods to be adopted.

Countries such as France, widely considered the finest wine producing country in the world, were not best pleased with this “mutilation” of rosé wine and did not agree for it to be sold in their country, or even be given as wine gifts. However, those countries that have not set such strict rules for themselves, such as those in Australasia and Eastern Europe have profited from their liberalism. A spokesman from the New Zealand alcohol authority defended his country’s move by stating that people are free to consume whichever wine they wish. The companies that produce this blended form of rosé wine do not use any trickery to try and sell it as the traditionally made variety, and there are clear differences in the pricing. The spokesman argued that if people can make milk chocolate in a thousand different ways, why can the same not be done for rosé?

Many of the Australasian countries have even embraced the full blending together of other wines as well.In Fiji for example you can buy Chenin Blanc mixed with Pinot Grigio and Tempranillo blended with Cabernet Franc. With the same unconcerned attitude as the New Zealand authorities, Fiji claim that wine is just as suitable for blending as Whisky. They state that companies all over the world, and in particular Scotland, produce some very fine blended whiskies that not only often taste superior to single malts, but that are also able to sell at more modest prices. Next they will be telling us which tableware we must use when consuming the wine, stated one official.

It is clear that the Fiji natives like this blended wine, with over 100,000 bottles of the stuff consumed last year. Many might consider this to be a small about, but relative to the population of Fiji, which is around 850,000, this rate of sale is incredibly high. There are plans to start exporting this fully blended wine very soon and given the fact they are able to undercut many ‘single malt’ wine produces, they are almost certain to do well.