Whether you think pink, eat pink, dress pink or talk pink, this October is breast cancer awareness month and in recognition, wine lovers, we are going to drink pink wine. October is when the annual campaign for Breast cancer awareness is hyped up. I have never really been one to be involved with awareness campaigns but over the years, I haven’t missed the various activities associated with its campaign, from pink ribbons, to pink shirts and once, I even shaved my head bald to join a campaign against the disease.

For wine lovers, when I look at a pink wine, commonly known as a rosé, it signifies everything fun, easy, and a “lighter side of life” picture perfect moments and for that reason, I thought we should join the campaign with a glass of pink wine in hand to help raise awareness to breast cancer.

A Wine campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness
Just to give you a heads up on a few enthusiastic efforts towards Breast Cancer in South Africa: – In order to raise the awareness campaign, Lanzerac Wine Estate in South Africa is donating ZAR9 for every bottle of Rosé purchased from their Tasting Room on the farm from September through to October. This is in order to raise funds for “research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of the illness.” Kumala Wines supports Breast Cancer screening and education through its sponsorship towards a PinkDrive initiative. Lastly, several wine estates and retailers around the world are getting together and raising awareness through the sale of pink wines at events and a stipulated percentage of the proceeds is donated to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Pink Wines
Rosé wines can be anywhere in colour from a very pale pink to a deeper pink. The brief contact of red skinned grapes with the grape juice for a few hours gives the resultant pink colour. The differences in the shades of pink depend on the number of hours that the skin is in contact with the grape juice. Rosés are not just sweet as I have heard a number of wine enthusiasts mention, they can be dry, off dry, semi-sweet or sweet. There are three main methods of producing Rosé wine.

Blending 
Already made red and white wines are blended together to make a Rosé wine with this method. The paler colour results from adding a small percentage of red wine to the white wine.

Maceration Method
In this common method, red grapes are used. During production, red grapes are left to macerate in the juice for a short amount of time. The maceration method is when red wine grapes are left to rest.

Saignée or “Bleeding” Method
This is a quality method where a small percentage of Rosé wines are made using this method. Some of the juice from red grapes in the making of red wine, during the first stages, is “bled” off and put into a separate tank to make rosé wine.

Your month’s pick of pink:

Bellingham Berry Bush Rosé
Get your breast cancer awareness going with this salmon pink wine offering an enticing playful nose. It has a fun expression of sweet and floral fruit and is ideal for a tête-à-tête. Ignore the publicised “men don’t drink pink drinks” and share a glass with your ‘good company’ and let him join other wine lovers in raising awareness this October.

Barefoot Zinfandel
Pour a glass of this pink and sweet wine lovers’ treat, and let you and a friend be surprised. Have your share of ripe fruit flavours as you both make yourselves aware of this annual campaign towards breast cancer.

Two Oceans Shiraz Rosé
This eye candy pink wine cannot be missed on the shelf and a few wine lists out to save you money. It is fresh and adds meaning to a lively glass of pink wine. Add some of that liveliness and flavour-filled fruits to your support for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Wine lovers, let’s rally behind this annual awareness towards breast cancer and all we have to do is add pink wine to our shopping lists this month. Drink more pink wine to start your awareness of this campaign. To our wine distributors, I challenge you to rally behind this campaign, together with wine lovers in support of this noble cause. May your next sip of pink wine bring you one step closer towards a worthy dedication to breast cancer. My shopping is done for the month of October, and it is definitely filled with bottles of pink wine. Until next month, it’s cheers with a pink sip and raising awareness to breast cancer.

Please note:
This article first appeared in The Standard Style, a weekly lifestyle magazine.

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