There are now lots and lots and LOTS of gorgeous English Sparkling wines to choose from but finding a good one for under £20 is a bit of a challenge (making sparkling wine via the traditional ‘champagne’ method i.e. with a second bubble-inducing fermentation happening inside the bottle is a relatively expensive business). This is …
Made from the Pinot Noir grape this is the pink take on one of the Loire Valley’s best known wines. From the gorgeous bottle shape to what’s inside, I absolutely loved this when I tasted it at the recent Tesco Press Tasting. Honestly, it beat lots of other Provence rosés hands down on deliciousness. Lighter, …
Bandol is a small sub-region in Provence first made famous by its big reds made from the Mourvedre grape. But it’s the region’s fairly in-your-face roses like this one that are a real delight. You can pay around £30 a bottle for some (hello, Domaine Tempier) or you can snaffle a relative bargain like this …
New to the shelf in the last few weeks, expect to see a LOT of pink Prosecco from now on. Actually it’s been around for years, just not labelled as Rose (Italian laws didn’t allow it). Now you can as long as the blend has at least 15% of the Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir in …
Another pink from Kent but this time with bubbles. It’s made in the same way as champagne (fermented in the bottle for a second bubble-inducing time) from a blend of the three classic champagne grapes and when you stick your nose in the glass you get a face full of strawberries and cream. Fantastic value …
The couple behind this wine have been making rosé from their vineyard in Provence for years so they know what they’re doing. And they’ve made this one, from the Pinot Noir grape grown in Kent, very much with Provence in mind. Pale with delicate red fruits and a streak of freshness, it’s a real taste …
Named after the founder’s WhatApp group chat ‘The Huns’, this is one of the sassiest wine brands to hit the shelves for a long time. There’s a white and a rosé in the range (with a sparkling rosé to come) and the wine is properly good, sourced from a great producer in South Africa. Made …
We’re more used to seeing this in red rather than pink but this is what happens when you crush Malbec grapes and leave the juice in contact with their skins for a bit. It goes pink! There’s a dash of the delightfully floral Torrontes grape in here too, adding a light floral touch to the …
I’m definitely still in the mood for rosé, especially when it’s such good value and organic. Made by a maestro in the Languedoc from grapes grown in a vineyard in an old salt lagoon, it’s pale with lovely redcurrant flavours and a twist of citrus. Nicely packaged, too. Sit and sip in the late summer sun …
The first English sparkling rose to appear on the shelves at Co-op, this has been made exclusively for them by Hush Heath, an estate down in Kent. It’s a really smart wine for the money, light and fresh with a whiff of red fruits and a properly good citrus twist. Tastes even better on the …
Graham Norton really loves his wine. So much so he’s put his name to a range that’s now selling 3.5million bottles a year. Not surprising given what good value this one is. Made by a crowdfunded winery in New Zealand, according to winemaker Rob Cameron Graham gets properly involved when it comes to selecting the …
Not quite Provence but it’s from the south of France and made from a similar blend of grapes so it’s not a million miles away. About a hundred to be precise, from the Languedoc Roussillon region. And because it’s from a more run-of-the-mill region, it comes with a more affordable price tag. Which definitely makes …
This is a slight more punchy take on rosé than we’re perhaps used to but the Rhone Valley doesn’t really do pale and interesting. It does bright, juicy wines full of fruit and character. This one is gorgeous, all redcurrent fruits with a twist of citrus. Makes for a properly refreshing change.
A bit brighter in colour than Provence rosé, this comes from the nearby Languedoc region. It’s a simple take on the style but ticks the essential boxes (crisp, clean, refreshing) with some lovely light strawberry fruit flavours and a twist of citrus. At this price, I’m not looking for a long-term relationship. Enjoy it while …
Can you remember life before Provence rosé? Me neither. Pale and refreshing, it’s pretty much the perfect thing to have in your glass on a warm summer evening. This one comes from a sub-region within the Cotes de Provence called Saint Victoire where a touch of altitude gives some of the wines a cool, crisp …
Beautifully packaged Provence rosé from the chateau owned by Brad & Angelina, this is a pretty pale pink made from a classic cocktail of red grapes. Crisp, dry, delicate – it ticks all the boxes and looks fabulous to boot. Best served in the sunshine.
Basically, this is pink prosecco – it’s made in the same way, from the same grape and from the same region – but Italian law hasn’t allowed pink prosecco to be a thing so you won’t find the p-word on the label. Actually, this is set to change so expect lots more appearing on the …
I absolutely love this wine. Not just because it’s in a portable, recyclable, quick-to-chill can that won’t spill on the dance floor (the struggle is real, people). But because the wine inside is seriously good value, full of fresh, bright red fruits. And it’s organic. Respect.
This brilliant value redcurrant fruit-scented rosé is from the Luberon in southeast France and comes in a summer-holiday-friendly magnum bottle. The fact that the label channels Duran Duran’s Rio video only works in its favour as far as I’m concerned (I was a huge fan. Oh don’t look at me like that). Perfect for a …
At last! A brilliant Provence rosé in a wine bag! This is M&S’s gorgeous Cuvée Rosée already available in a normal 75cl bottle and in a train-friendly 25cl bottle. And thanks to the success of their other camping/festival/picnic-friendly wine bags, they’ve given this one its very own bag too. I tasted it yesterday at the …
Gorgeous pale rosé made by the Perrin family (the same lot that make Brad & Angelina’s wine Miraval), this is all white peach and light red fruits, just as it should be. The label doesn’t tell you much; happily the wine does the talking. Normally £11.99 but it’s on offer at the moment so a …
This wine’s modelled on old-school Bordeaux clairet. In other words a lightish red that used to be made and shipped to the UK where it was known as claret. That name’s now used as an umbrella term for red wines of the region but the original style is more like this one, a really dark rosé. Made …
The one’s bone dry (it’s got less than 1g/l of residual sugar) and as rosé wines go, it’s actually got a bit more meat on its bones. A blend of classic Provence grapes including Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, this was one of the many brilliant wines tasted at this week’s Spring Press Tasting for Morrisons. …
I know it’s what’s on the inside that counts but honestly the bottle this comes in is just divine, embossed around the bottom with herbs and flowers. As for the contents, it’s a very simple pale rosé, all light citrus and peach perfectly done. This is the new vintage so even though the Aldi website …
This is the Spanish rosé from our Camp Bestival wine tasting a few weeks ago and it went down beautifully. Pale but perky, fruity but subtle, it’s everything you want from a serious (but not so serious it’s scary) rosé. Joyful to drink, it’s light enough to sip on its own but with enough fruit and …
They say all good things come in small packages. Not so, because this brilliant rose bag in box holds 5 litres. That, my friends, is a lot of bottles of wine. More than six, in fact. And for the price, that works out at £6/bottle. Warning: this is not a pale rose. Rather it’s Italian …
Most pink wines in boxes are not like this one: namely, pale, crisp and dry. Sourced from vineyards across the Mediterranean, it’s not quite the same as drinking a pale Provence rose from the bottle (not directly. You know what I mean) but it comes pretty close, taste-wise. The packaging is way better than normal …
My rose intake has gone through the roof since the sun came out and honestly, I’m sure it tastes better in the sun. This one is at the perky rather than pale end of the scale, with lovely fresh strawberry fruit aromas and red fruit flavours. We’re more used to drinking Malbec in red form …
I mean, look at that bottle! So lovely. The colour of the wine is candy floss pink rather than Provence pale and has a much bigger burst of fruit to go with it. And the wine has been left on its lees (yeasts after fermentation) for a while adding oomph and flavour, so it’s really food-friendly too …
Last Sunday, I cooked a shoulder of lamb for lunch. It was a Nigella recipe and she told me to add a generous amount of rose to the roasting pan. It was delicious. The wine I mean, not the lamb (although that wasn’t half bad if I may say so myself). Fresh and bright with …
Read more “Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Barrihuelo Rioja Rosado”
Not easy to find fresh, crisp, fruity rose champagne at this price. I mean, it’s not cheap but for champagne it’s about as cheap as a good rose gets. Compared with some of the more expensive stuff it’s not nearly as delicate but you still get the thrill of bubbles and berries and toast. Pretty to …
Made exclusively for M&S by a producer called Oudinot, it’s a blend of the two red grapes allowed in Champagne, namely Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. And it’s gorgeous: fresh and crisp with a gentle whiff of toast about it. The light pink colour comes from the grape skins being left with the juice for …
I’m not saying that you have to drink pink for Valentine’s Day but if ever there was a time for pink fizz, this is as good as any. Especially when it’s on offer as it is at the moment (it’s usually about £10, available in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons too). There’s a touch of sweetness here, …
I love this wine’s story. William Chase grew potatoes. Once, when his potatoes were rejected by a supermarket for being ‘not being pretty enough’, he decided to make them into crisps. And so the Tyrrell’s crisps brand was born. Then he decided to make vodka from his potatoes and, eventually, gin too. Now he’s making …
We talked about this wine last year. It was the one my sister and I took to Camp Bestival and probably the reason we slightly overshot the runway on the first night. Anyway, it’s back, with a new vintage. And I love it. Pale but not too delicate, with gorgeous redcurrant fruit flavours and a whiff of …
There’s definitely more rose wine creeping into the fridge now that the weather’s warmed up (temporarily, anyway). And as much as I love a pink from Provence, there are lots of other places to find pale and interesting wines. Producers in the Loire Valley’s Sancerre region make theirs from the Pinot Noir grape – and this …
Currently on offer until the 10th May (it’s normally £9.79), this is definitely worth popping into the basket/trolley. The new vintage is pleasingly pale and – most importantly – full of bright, fresh redcurrant fruit flavours. When buying rose, it’s usually worth going for the youngest wine you can find on the shelves. So, if you’ve …
I’m thinking pink for this weekend to kick off Sunday lunch, quite one of my favourites times of the Bank Holiday weekend, always. Came across this one at a recent Aldi press tasting and it stood out for all the right reasons, not least for its brilliant value. It’s fresh and crisp, with gentle strawberry …
Oeil de Perdrix means eye of the partridge, a reference to the pale pink colour of the wine. Not that I’ve got close enough to a partridge to know otherwise but hey, I love the idea. With its pretty label and pop of colour, this blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir has got just right red …
From a remote area in the middle of France, this is a simple, moreish rose made from a blend of Gamay (the grape behind Beaujolais) and Pinot Noir (the grape behind red Burgundy and some champagnes, including the one above). This one’s bright pink with juicy raspberry fruits. A brilliantly left-field rose.
A classic Provence rose cocktail of grapes, including Grenache (the red grape behind so many good rose wines), Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon. Given that 2014 wasn’t an easy vintage for much of this part of the world, this is pretty (in pink) good.
A brilliant wine for under a fiver, bright and bold in colour and flavour. It’s made from the Garnacha grape (called Grenache in France), from the Campo de Borja region in Spain. Deliciously juicy with lots of strawberry fruit.
Made from this rather high maintenance grape, it’s grown in the Marlborough region in New Zealand’s South Island. Beautifully pale with gorgeous, fresh raspberry fruit flavours. A stand out bargain in the Aldi range at the moment.
This is made by the same team behind Asda’s brilliant Bradshaw wines (the Pinot Grigio is currently on offer at £4 down from its usual £6). But this one was sent to me by Tanners, a long-standing family-owned wine company. The winery, Cramele Recas, is run by an Englishman who came to Romania more than …
If you can’t pick this up from one of the above outlets, you can order it online but there is a delivery charge unless you order three boxes of it. They kindly sent me one to try so I just paid the normal price for a 3l box but will be buying more. This is …
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