Nothing speaks summer more than rosé.
Pink in hue, light, and delicately pretty, rosé pairs perfectly with crisp summer nights and light dinners of seafood, grilled veggies, salads, and charcuterie. Airy desserts, like fresh strawberries with cream or lemon chiffon pie are other complementary options. Served chilled (preferably between 45 and 55 degrees), rosé is best sipped outdoors. And preferably on a terrace surrounded by fragrant, climbing roses.
Some confuse the pretty-in-pink wine as being a carefully curated blend of red and white (it’s not); rosé is actually made by allowing red grape skins to sit awhile in their juice (hence the color). France, of course, produces most of the world’s top rosé wines. But Italy and the U.S. offer a few lovelies too. Following are our recommendations for the top six rosé wines to sip this summer. See you in the rose garden or by the water’s edge.
Fleurs de Prairie
This rosé wine from the South of France is made from a blend of five different types of grapes: Grenache Noir, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre. The name translates to “wildflowers,” and indeed there is a certain floral quality on the palate of this light and delicate wine. The grapes are direct pressed, and then each varietal is fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. Look for notes of lemon, ripe red berries, and a touch of acidity that make this an excellent choice to pair with a summer meal of grilled meat and fresh vegetables.
Price: $12.99, b-21.com
Chateau La Mascaronne
Can’t make it to France this summer? Grab a bottle of this silvery rosé, head to the nearest porch or rooftop, and prepare to be transported straight to the Cote d’Azure. Lush white peach and zesty red plum are delicious, but it’s the melting salinity — that elusive superpower of Provencal wines — that will have you reaching for the bottle again and again. And if you do find yourself in the region, by all means stop by: La Mascaronne is located on a stunning terraced hillside overlooking the village of Le Luc. And, if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of hotelier Michel Reybier or NBA star Tony Parker, co-owners of the Chateau.
Price: $26, chateau-lamascaronne.com
2023 Lorenza Rose
After the debacle that was white Zinfandel in the 1990s, U.S. winemakers got smart about rosé and began producing more nuanced wines. Melinda Kearney and Michèle Ouellet, the mother-daughter team behind Lorenza, took it a step further using traditional Rhone varietals to create a wine that would remind them of some of their favorite rosés from Provence. Blended from Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, and Grenache, the 2023 balances strawberry, melon, and orange blossom with a shot of bracing plum skin. You can taste the fruit but thanks to an infusion of cool minerality, it’s as soft as a summer sunset.
Price: $26, lorenzawine.com
2023 Torre Zambra Incastro Rosa
More salmon-hued than ballet-slipper pink, Torre Zambra’s melange of Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Primitivo is a grown-up rosé that was purpose-built to stand up to the heady tapenades and pates that fuel aperitivo time in Italy’s Abruzzo region. Thanks to a palate of cherry, wild strawberry, plum, and other summer fruits, this slightly tannic wine is structured but not domineering.
Price: $25, wineenthusiast.com
2023 Goldeneye Anderson Valley Vin Gris of Pinot Noir
Can’t wrap your arms around pink wine? Consider vin gris, or “grey wine” that gets its subtle blush from a nanosecond — in this case 22 hours — of contact with red grape skins. Pinot Noir’s enchanting push-pull of earth and fruit makes it a favorite of Vin Gris producers, who use the short skin maceration time to boost structure, minerality, and acidity without dampening all those gorgeous fresh flavors. Though light and easy drinking, Goldeneye’s elegant Vin Gris is filled with enticing flavors of candied grapefruit and golden raspberry.
Price: $38, goldeneyewinery.com
Clos Cibonne ‘Cuvée Spéciale des Vignettes
It’s not often that French wine producers put the varietal on the label, but they do when the grape is Tibouren, an ancient grape that Julius Caesar himself was said to favor. The wine’s aging process is as unique as the grape itself: the fermented juice spends a year under a fleurette, the thin veil of yeast that also gives sherry its deep flavor. Made from 90% Tibouren (the remaining 10% is Grenache), Caesar probably would have loved this wine, which is complex with flavors of quince and toasted walnut, and long persistent finish.
Price: $70, wine.com
Featured image courtesy of Bennie Bates, Unsplash
