The Dark Arts of Wine Marketing

Wine marketing is a curious beast. One moment, you’re sipping an obscure rosé on a boat with industry insiders; the next, that same rosé is on every restaurant wine list in the country.

In this episode of After School: The Wine Podcast, we dive into the marketing machine behind wine trends—with a glass of Provence rosé in hand, of course.

Tasting the Trend: Minuty M Rosé from Provence

Today’s featured wine is the Minuty “M” Rosé from the Côte de Provence. Light, crisp, and achingly pale in color, this wine is a classic vin gris—made by harvesting red grapes early in the season and gently pressing them for minimal skin contact. The result? High acid, delicate fruit, and a clean, almost creamy texture from lees aging.

On the nose, it offers crushed raspberries and quince. On the palate: strawberry, watermelon, and a whisper of earth. It’s elegant. It’s delicious. And yes—we bought this bottle ourselves. No sponsorships here.

That Time We Were Lured onto a Rosé Boat

Years ago, when rosé was still battling the stigma of being “too sweet,” we were invited on a cruise around Manhattan. The guest list? Sommeliers, wine writers, importers, and just enough reality TV personalities to keep things spicy.

The boat was sponsored by an EU-funded wine marketing campaign designed to rehabilitate rosé’s reputation in the U.S.—specifically, rosés from the South of France. The food was excellent. The wine flowed freely. Everyone had a glass of pink in hand, whether they liked it or not.

And you know what? It worked.

Within two years, rosé was everywhere. “Rosé All Day” became a hashtag. Whispering Angel became a household name. What had once been a hard sell in our classrooms suddenly became the must-have bottle at brunch.

How Wine Trends Are Engineered

Here’s what most people don’t see: wine marketing rarely targets the public directly. Instead, campaigns focus on sommeliers, wine educators, restaurant groups, and retail buyers. The people who make decisions about what ends up on wine lists and store shelves.

Because the U.S. has a fractured wine distribution system—different laws in every state, different importers and distributors—there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. So marketing becomes hyper-local and hyper-targeted.

Industry groups, sometimes backed by state or EU funds, pour millions into influencing the influencers. That cruise we went on? Just one of many. We’ve been flown to Paso Robles, dined with winemakers, and toured vineyards—all as part of well-orchestrated campaigns by trade organizations and AVAs.

Paso Robles: Another Well-Planned Persuasion

One of our favorite trips was to Paso Robles back in 2012. It was our first time exploring the region as wine professionals, and the experience was unforgettable. We met incredible winemakers, attended winemaker dinners, and soaked in the beauty of Central California.

And yes, we recommend Paso wines all the time now. We even teach an entire class on the region. Did the trip influence us? Of course. That’s the point. But it also connected us to a part of the wine world we hadn’t deeply explored—and that has lasting value.

Still, we try to stay honest. When teaching about Paso, we also mention the flatlands and the fact that not every wine from the region is great. And yes, we always bring up the tarantula the size of a cat we saw crawling across a vineyard trail.

Rosé: A Study in Marketing Success

The transformation of rosé from afterthought to icon is a masterclass in wine marketing. It shows how effective behind-the-scenes efforts—glamorous trips, strategic tastings, targeted outreach—can reshape a nation’s palate.

And yet, there’s nothing nefarious about it. This is how the sausage gets made in the wine world. It’s how trends emerge, preferences shift, and whole categories are reborn.

So, What’s in Your Glass?

Next time you’re sipping a glass of something trendy—Argentine Malbec in the early 2000s, Provençal rosé in 2018, or whatever’s next—take a moment to wonder: Who put this idea in your head?

Because chances are, someone did.

Want more behind-the-scenes wine stories?
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