While strolling through the vineyards in Bordeaux, you may notice the roses blooming proudly at the end of each row. They look beautiful, enrich the landscape and since centuries are part of French vine growing heritage.
If you’ve visited other French wine regions, you might have noticed a similar scenery and wonder: were the roses planted there just for aesthetics or is there another reason?
“Roses in the vineyard are not just beautiful — they’re wise and protect what matters most. That’s what I aim to do with every experience I create. I keep a watchful eye on the wines entering African markets to ensure they reflect the highest standards of quality and cultural integrity.”
— Chinedu Rita Rosa
Roses – Guardians of the Vines
This practice dates back centuries, when growers needed to develop an early-warning system that would help them monitor the health of vines and take steps to protect them.
Warm, dry days followed by cool, humid nights that are ideal for growing vines also promote fungal diseases.
These infections attack the vines leaving white or grey-ish patches on the leaves and can destroy the entire crop.
At the time, roses were slightly more susceptible to powdery and downy mildew than vines. Therefore they would show the signs of the disease first, before mould would attack the vines. This way growers had time to act: treat the nearby vines and stop the full outbreak, preventing the integrity of the harvest and, oftentimes, saving their family business.
This made roses an essential part of not only the memorable and charming landscape, but also the vine growing practice and crop protection.
Where Tradition Meets Innovation
Nowadays, vine growers have access to more precise tools, which help indicate a problem before the visual symptoms appear. The modern technology and methods of breeding roses allow to develop plants that are resistant to most of the diseases present in the vineyards, so they no longer play their traditional role as they used to.
As roses have been a part of a vineyard landscape, especially in France and Italy, they are still planted with respect to tradition and agricultural heritage; they enhance the experience for visitors and strengthen winery’s identity. Moreover, roses support the biodiversity in the vineyard and can attract beneficial insects, which naturally help control pests in the vineyards.
Roses in the Vineyards
Chinedu Rita Rosa
Roses and Vines by Rosa story
At Vines by Rosa, the roses are a metaphor for the vision of the founder, Chinedu Rita Rosa, who was deeply moved by how roses symbolise the cultural elegance rooted in earth and a guiding presence.
They were an inspiration not only for the company’s name, but also founder’s philosophy: to not just create wine events, but guide each experience with care, resilience and grace.
Like the roses in the vineyards, Chinedu stands at the intersection of two worlds. She creates a bridge between the wine producers and the African culture, she shapes the experience for those who want to discover the connection between wine markets in Europe and Africa. Finally, she protects the integrity of both wine and culture and honours the tradition while crafting something new for the worldwide wine industry.
