On Nov. 29, the day Spotify announced that Taylor Swift was the streaming service’s top global artist of 2023, music producer Jack Antonoff posted on his Instagram Stories a photo of the pop phenomenon to celebrate the release of her new single, a vault track from her 2022 album, Midnights. Next to Swift was a matte black bottle of wine.
“‘You’re Losing Me’ is out today. A very special track from the Midnight Sessions that’s finally streaming!” Antonoff wrote. “Written and recorded at home on 12/5/21 right after Taylor ate these raisins.”
Swift’s fanbase (“Swifties”)—collectively addicted to decoding Easter eggs dropped by the musician in music videos, concerts and social media posts—leapt to decipher what the wine was, and what it could mean. It turns out it was a bottle of Gaslighter Rosé (we rated the debut 2020 vintage 88 points in a blind tasting) from fellow country music sensations The Chicks. Released in early 2022, Gaslighter rosé is produced by Sonoma’s Gundlach Bundschu family using Pinot Noir grapes.
What has fans aflutter is the name, “Gaslighter,” referencing The Chicks’ 2020 album and its song about someone who plays mind games and psychologically manipulates another person (believed to be about singer Natalie Maines’ ex-husband).
Coming in tandem with “You’re Losing Me,” a slow song tracing the end of a relationship, Antonoff’s post throws a wrench into fans’ timeline of Swift’s relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn—implying that the couple’s romance was in trouble years before they originally thought. Alwyn and Swift reportedly broke up in April 2023 after six years together.
“I don’t think she’s drinking it because she likes it. I think she’s trying to prove a point,” claimed one TikTok user in a video that now has over 5.6 million views.
The affordably priced Gaslighter rosé, originally retailing for $25, has been quickly selling out in retailers across the country, in particular at Total Wine & More, which had been set to stop carrying the brand. One Total Wine representative outside Austin remarked how a customer showed him the post before they sold the last bottle: “Nobody was paying any attention to it. I mean, it was just another rosé on the shelf.” The Gaslighter line also includes a Sauvignon Blanc, a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain appellation.
Wine is believed to be Swift’s drink of choice, and she frequently uses it as a metaphor in her lyrics. In 2019, Swift told Ellen Degeneres that if she were bringing wine to a dinner party, it would be Sancerre, another Sauvingon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. She was also seen celebrating the end of the first leg of her Eras Tour, in Los Angeles in August 2023, swirling a glass of white wine and toasting to the crowd.
