Rosé is THE drink of the summer. As we've mentioned before, a good rule of thumb for pairing Rosés with food is to remember "Pink & Provençal". Easy enough since that describes Rosé itself.
Our sales rep Patrick Harney used that advice when he hosted a Rosé Cookout for Bacchus Importers' Maryland Sales Team. Read more from Patrick to learn how and why he came up with the idea, why he thinks Rosé is so popular, and some of his favorite recipes to pair with Rosé.
"Summertime for me means summer camp. I think about how my kids learn in summer camp versus how they learn in school and sometimes I wonder whether the experiential learning they enjoy at camp isn’t more effective than the methods employed by their schools. There’s a lot to be said about making a point experientially. Too often we stand in front of our wholesale sales teams and deliver Powerpoint presentations chock full of features and benefits in hopes that as a result, sales will magically increase. When Beth Kostelnik (my then Brand Manager at Bacchus) told me I should have a rosé dinner and take lots of pictures and put them on social media, I thought what a terrific idea that was...even though I am seriously social media challenged. I later decided to expand on that idea and make the sales team at Bacchus a Rosé-centric lunch. I thought the team could benefit from how wonderfully Rosé works with Provence-inspired dishes and thus be able to share the experience with their retail and restaurant customers.
The dishes were all adaptations from Richard Olney’s Provence cookbook--a really terrific book full of pictures and easy to follow recipes. I did most of the prep at home on Thursday evening. On Friday, grilling commenced out near the loading dock while the sales team went into their meeting. Once done, everything was set up buffet style in the kitchen, the sales team served themselves and we shared lunch together back in the sales room. I started the discussion by sharing some of the latest IRI data clearly showing the incredible growth of both the Rosé category and many Vineyard Brands’ Rosés in particular. After tossing some numbers around I explained why I chose the dishes to be served and the geographic and cultural ties that Rosé had to Provençal cuisine. The discussion turned to more of roundtable forum discussing favorite Rosés and specific food pairings. We, of course, talked a lot about food…who, in our business, doesn’t love to eat? We came around to how casually but effectively Rosé is able to pair with all kinds of food in general and how maybe that’s the real reason behind the incredible growth of this type of wine.
Many years ago, I attended an organized Pinot Gris and white varietals tasting conducted by Erath of Oregon. The tasting used various samples of food to illustrate the versatility of Pinot Gris, how it is able to pair with cheese, vegetables, protein, etc. It was very well done and their point was effectively made. I recall at the time thinking that this was perhaps the reason behind the baffling rise in the popularity of Pinot Grigio. Certainly the tastes and preferences of wine consumers always seem to be downright mysterious and I think many of us professionals tend to underestimate them. I think the rise of Rosé and the continued success of Pinot Grigio show that consumers embrace wines which are fresh and easily approachable yet show a refined ability to pair well with many different types of food. While we can talk forever as to what works and why in our business, sometimes the best way to understand it is by sharing in the experience. I think that’s what was accomplished at the Rosé Cookout. Beyond that, the rosé cookout was a great way to really connect with the Bacchus team. Sales reps are used to having suppliers buy them lunch, so they are more deeply touched when the supplier actually makes them lunch. They appreciate the extra effort and care which comes with doing more than merely whipping out a credit card."
Menu:
Vegetable Crudite
Grilled Country Bread with Anchovy Oil
Grilled Tuna Steaks with Tomato and Persillade
Grilled Chicken with Olive Tapenade
Grilled Sausages
Ratatouille
Zucchini Gratin
Rosemary-ed Baby Spring Potatoes
You can find the cookbook Patrick used on Amazon. If you'd like more recipes to try with your favorite rosé, check out our blog post on rosé and food pairings here.