A crazy story in the Chicago Tribune last week about a "Rosé rush" at Chicagoland ALDI supermarkets sparked a number of data related thoughts. First, you read that right. It was a Rosé wine rush, nothing to do with old west gold miners. The wine in question was priced at $8.99 a bottle with a one per customer limit. The paper reported that the juice was gone in hours.

The background to the stampede story had the complexity of a grand cru Bordeaux but Aldi customers were either unaware or perhaps too thirsty to care. The German-owned supermarket chain is known for an award-winning Rosé sold in Britain for less than $8 a bottle. Aldi's U.S. bottler, however—and thus the wine—are different.

We suspect Aldi's Chicago customers were nonetheless happy. Although Chicago Tribune staffers were unwilling to allow the two wines' comparability, summertime drinkers were probably content not to look this pale pink gift horse in the mouth.

That's where our thoughts turned to data and to song. And to summertime. Recent weeks have been chockablock with summer wine stories. Rosé is a natural hog for attention. Forbes a few weeks ago called Rosé "summer's official wine." But others spread their summertime entertaining (and enjoying) recommendations across a wide swath: Grenache, Pinot Grigio, Dry Riesling (and Sweet), Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Prosecco, and Chardonnay, among others.

Our first look into our DrinkTell™ database was from the 30,000 foot perspective—annual changes in the top volume domestic varietals from our summertime list. Except for Chardonnay, with its mega volume comparables, solid growth was the rule.

With the Spritz craze still going full bore, a peek at a couple of popular and highly regarded Prosecco's showed the expected results in DrinkTell™.

Volume Growth 2011-2016, 000 Cases
Two Top Selling Proseccos

Dropping from the clouds, thoughts of easy livin' and refreshing summertime drinking fall for many consumers in the realm of the specialty wine category. Think summertime punches and Sangria. The top specialty brands, Arbor Mist and Daily's, lost their momentum a while back. While they are positioned as "refreshing" they're not really marketed to come to mind when "Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high."

But take a look at the next five. And if you have access to DrinkTell™ keep looking down the list. Sangria is the story. Even Myx Fusions. Leading Niki Minaj's line are Moscato and Sangria.

Specialty Wine Volume Growth 2011-2016
Selected Brands, 000 Cases

Our take on all this? DrinkTell™'s hard numbers reassure us that summertime is a good time. That's not just for enjoying George and Ira Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess" and the classic 1959 recording of the aria "Summertime" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. It's a good time for wine marketers to research the strategic opportunities for summertime wines in a robust database like DrinkTell™. For questions or to look at our DrinkTelltrade; database yourself just give us a call. To order a BMC U.S. Wine, Beer, or Spirits Guide, 2017 edition, just click below.