Recession, what recession? The future is looking rosé

Sales have exploded so dramatically - thanks to hotter summers and improving quality - that government number crunchers have for the first time included pink wine in their shopping "basket" used to work out the rate of inflation.

Sales rocketed by 30 per cent last year, surviving the dismal summer, and rosé now accounts for one bottle in 10 of wine bought in Britain.

The latest revision puts a bottle of rosé into the basket at the expense of a great Eighties drinking trend - the wine box.

The list of more than 650 goods and services is a carefully calculated cross-section of "the way we live now" agonised over annually by experts at the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS said: "Bottled rosé is being included for the first time reflecting the increased popularity and growing shelf space devoted to rosé."

Steve Lewis, chief executive of Majestic wine stores, said: "One of my jobs is to keep track of the coming trends. There is no demand from our customers for wine boxes and we don't sell any at all, which says something. But demand for rosé has increased immeasurably."

The other change in alcohol-buying habits is that cider is now calculated by small rather than large bottles.

Today's shake-up of the basket, which will be used to calculate the rate of inflation tomorrow, shows surprisingly little impact from the recession.

The big trend appears to be towards outdoor rather than cheap eating.

Hot rotisserie chicken, the staple of many a summer picnic and well partnered by a bottle of chilled rosé, is in; frozen lamb chops are out after 22 years. Parmesan - now a ubiquitous restaurant menu staple shaved over a rocket salad - has elbowed out a block of imported cheddar.

Perhaps reflecting the trend for richer eating treats during harder times, thick double cream has replaced the single version.

In a nod to ethical consumer trends, the price of large eggs will now be calculated from the free range version.

Other changes reflect the pace of technological innovation. Digital music MP3 players such as iPods are out, replaced by their more sophisticated video version, the MP4 player.

Blu-ray discs, the fast growing format for videos, are in the list for the first time. But hiring a DVD from the local Blockbusters has gone, replaced by online DVD subscription services.

Some items have slipped off the list because of the changing high street. The cost of a watch repair has been dropped because it "is becoming more difficult to price due to fewer outlets offering a standard repair service".