New Zealand winery Babich Wines has launched a new rosé into the Australian market, as consumers seek out more options for sustainably produced organic wines.
Babich Wines CEO David Babich said that Rosé as a category has grown significantly over the last decade, with more than a third of Australian wine drinkers consuming it on a regular basis (according to Wine Intelligence Global Trends in Wine report).
“While rosé has plateaued in recent years, the organic wine market continues to show strong growth, so we're excited to reinvigorate and bring renewed interest, growth and energy to the popular rosé segment,” said Babich.
Almost one billion bottles of organic wine are expected to be consumed around the world by 2023, more than doubling from the 441 million bottles recorded in 2013, according to the organisers of the largest international organic wine competition, Millésime Bio.
In line with this, Babich's organic sales have grown 242 per cent over the last five years, and 50 per cent in the last year, as consumers seek out sustainable organic wines for quality and lighter environmental footprint.
Babich Wines started its organic wine journey over 15 years ago in Marlborough, pursuing BioGro certification for Headwaters, its flagship organic vineyard.
Prior to that, in 1995, the company’s Irongate Vineyard was the first in New Zealand to be independently certified as sustainable by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.
Babich said it was rewarding to see the rapid expansion of organic wine both in New Zealand, Australia and around the world.
"We’ve been running our vineyards for over 100 years, always with sustainability and future generations in mind. We have challenged ourselves to find ways to grow grapes and produce all our wines in a way that minimises environmental impact.
"We use less chemicals, which is better for the soil and biodiversity, making our vineyards and land healthier over the long term,” said Babich.
The family business produces seven organic and vegan certified wines and is one of New Zealand’s leading organic wine producers, with their number of organic hectares set to expand by 50 per cent by 2024, at which point Babich Wines will have three vineyards producing certified organic grapes.
“Commercially, we feel organic wine is strongly differentiating itself both in the Australasian and international wine industry. As a family winery, we’re really committed to organic wine production and its growth,” said Babich.
The Babich Family Estates 2022 Marlborough Organic Rosé has flavours of orchard fruits, lime, redcurrant, and apple and can be described as juicy and fleshy upfront with spicy length and a lingering minerality, and is available at Vintage Cellars across Australia from October.
