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‘Bonkers’ rosé sales in UK driven by four wine brands

23 February 2026 By Patrick Schmitt

The fast-growing UK retail market for rosé is being driven by just a few wine brands – none of which hail from Provence, according Bijou’s Edward Vellacott.

Vellacott, who holds the position of international commercial manager at Bijou Wines, which specialises in rosés from Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon, called the UK market for rosé “bonkers”, when speaking to db at Wine Paris on Monday 9 February.

Referring to the huge rise in rosé sales over the course of the past 12 months, Vellacott recorded a growth of almost 7 million bottles in pink wine sales in the UK off-trade during the year-long period, representing an increase of 64% (Nielsen 52 weeks to the week ending 24.01.26).

Furthermore, he said that almost all the growth was due to the impressive performance of just four brands, none of which were from the famous source of dry, pale rosé – Provence – while all of the labels were priced below £10.

Indeed, such a level would rule out rosé from the bounded and strictly regulated southern French appellation, because the high price of grapes and wine in Provence would make it impossible to sell wine sub £10 and cover the costs of production in the long term.

However, outside the region, but within the broader area of southern France, including Languedoc-Roussillon and the southern Rhône valley, it is possible to source wine and grapes at lower prices, but produce a rosé in a similar style to Provence, as the climate, soils and grape varieties are similar.

Such wines may not have the same high-end image, nor be as fine as a Provençal rosé, but they tend to have the similar poached salmon pink appearance and soft, fruity-yet-dry style, making them appealing alternatives to the ‘real thing’.

Growth-leaders sub £10

Crucially, these category-driving brands are priced below £10, which is where the vast majority of wine sales in the UK are made, despite the increasing costs of selling wine in the market, primarily due to rising taxes.

Vellacott recorded, “The off-trade [for rosé sales in the UK] has gone bonkers, with French rosé sales up seven million bottles year-on-year, with 98% of that driven by just four brands.”

Notably, one name in particular is responsible for more than 70% of the growth, which is La Vieille Ferme rosé, made by Famille Perrin using grapes from southern France – a brand dubbed ‘the chicken wine’ in the UK due to its label.

Surging forward in annual sales by 60%, it has increased by more than 5.2m bottles in a single year to account for almost 13.9m bottles of a UK retail market for French rosé totalling nearly 40m bottles – meaning this brand, which tends to sell for around £7-8, is not only the largest, but makes up a little over 35% of the category (and almost 11% of all rosé sales in the UK off-trade, which total more than 128m bottles, see figures below).

Further driving forces

As for the other three driving forces, those are Le Bijou de Sophie Valrose – a Grenache and Cinsault blend from the south of France that sells just below £10 in the UK multiples – along with La P’tite Pierre and Studio by Miraval.

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La P’tite Pierre is made by Les Grands Chais de France using grapes from southern France, and has similar price and brand cues to La Vieille Ferme, although La P’tite Pierre features an artistic illustration of a French medieval hilltop town, as opposed to the former’s sketch of a rooster and a hen.

As for Studio by Miraval, that tends to sell at around £10 when on discount and uses mainly Cinsault and Grenache grapes from across Southern France to create a cheaper alternative to the Château Miraval rosé from Provence.

Like La Vieille Ferme, the wines of Miraval are made by the Perrin family, although the Miraval brand and château is owned by Brad Pitt.

White Zin to Vin de France

Looking at the rosé sector in more detail, Vellacott said that after La Vieille Ferme, the main volume driver was La P’tite Pierre, which has grown by 680,000 bottles in the past 12 months, although both this and the ‘chicken wine’ were the cheapest of the big-selling pink brands in the UK, and “price-driven offers” that were recruiting consumers from “sweet styles”, such as White Zinfandel and Pinot Grigio blush from California and Italy respectively.

Following La Vieille Ferme and La P’tite Pierre in terms of annual growth volumes is Le Bijou de Sophie Valrose and then Studio by Miraval, which have increased by more than 1m bottles and 580,000 bottles respectively.

“Bijou and Studio are providing a trade-up,” he said, referring to their higher price position compared to the other two fast-growing French rosés.

Nevertheless, he stressed that it was French rosé under £10 that was driving the growth in rosé sales in the UK.

“The total rosé market is up in volume by 2.6%, but France is up 21.6%, so it is French rosé that is propping up the whole category,” he said, before stating, “And 87% of all French rosé is sold under £10 in the UK, so while everyone talks about Provence, the market is dominated by French rosé brands” – referring to the broader classifications such as Vin de France.

Kylie and Whispering Angel

Indeed, only one of the top five biggest rosé brands in the UK is from Provence – Whispering Angel – which is the third largest, selling almost 1.5m bottles in the UK off-trade, and growing year-on-year in volume by almost 3%

Aside from La Vieille Ferme, Whispering Angel, Bijou and La P’tite Pierre, the other major player in the UK rosé sector is Kylie Minogue Wines, which the source of the second biggest pink wine brand, with its Signature Rosé – a Vin de France selling for less than £10 that’s growing at just under 3%.

With the overall wine sector in UK retailers suffering from a decline in volume sales of around 3%, the market for rosé is a beacon of resilience, and a sign that there is plenty of demand for strong brands with memorable labels, featuring good, dry, easy-drinking wine at relatively affordable prices.