As we continue our journey through the history of rosé, we approach a pivotal turning point that brought the wine style from its home in Europe to the rest of the world. It all began in the city of Villa Real in northeastern Portugal.
Vineyards were first introduced to the area in 1764, after which a winery was established on the grounds of the historic Mateus Palace. Fast-forward to post-phylloxera Europe and hybrid grape varieties became the go-to winemaking grapes in Portugal. In 1942, a winemaker by the name of Fernando da Cunha Guedes started producing a medium-sweet rosé blend with a small amount of carbonation, crafted with grapes sourced from the Mateus vineyard. Although the wine was originally designed to be an affordable table wine for the Brazilian market, it eventually made its way to the U.S. And to say it was a smashing success would be an understatement.
On this episode of “Wine 101,” Keith explores the history of Mateus, the world’s first commercialized rosé. Tune in for more.
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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.
*Image retrieved from Sonny via stock.adobe.com
