Oh hi summer!
Today, we’re talking about one of my favorite subjects. Rosé! The best rosé to drink this summer. All the rosé that I’m freaking over right now in 2018. Sounds about right.
Because, you guys! One of the questions I’m asked most in the summer is… what is your FAVORITE rosé?! Or… what rosé should I buy this weekend?! I use lots and lots of rosé in my cocktails (you know this!) but also love to drink it (and talk about it…) like the millennial that I am.
And here! I’m going to tell you about my top ten favorites. My faves of the pretty pink bottle that we can’t stop buying in the summer.
MY OTHER RECIPESFirst up, the deets. I love dry rosés. I don’t want a sweet rosé. Or at least not a very sweet rosé. Dry is where it’s at for me.
Second, I didn’t get all fancy with the tasting notes here. I wanted to give you a quick rundown of my favorite brands, stress-free. But I do love rosé that has hints of watermelon and cherry and some light floral flavor. Yessss.
I know that there are different regions for rosé, but I can say with confidence that after years of drinking it? I prefer rosés from Provence, specifically coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence! So fancy. That’s why I’m doing a post on ten bottles that I love, as opposed to rosés from different regions or rosés that I want to try. These ten here? They are the ones I’m buying the most often. You’ll probably see three stand outs below that I purchase the most, but other than that, the rest are all game.
You’ll also notice that some of the bottles below are dated from 2016. With rosé, you want to buy it aged from the previous year (or maaaaybe one year before, but it’s not a wine that gets better with age) so I’m hoping that since I shot this early in the season, it’s the reason why my store still had bottles from 2016. However, being in Pennsylvania (a control state), our pickings can be slim! Lacy and I went to multiple different stores to check out the rosé selection over the last few months (err, years?) and ended up happiest with these.
Oh and ones I’m rambling about here? They are all non-sparkling (saying “flat” sounds terrible and gross) and non-cider variations. I love sparkling versions too (and I’m dying to try the cider but haven’t yet!), but wanted to focus on the bottles without the bubbles.
Also! You guys give me amazing recommendations for rosé on instagram but sometimes I can’t get my hands on it being here in PA. And it’s quite depressing that my Trader Joes and Whole Foods don’t sell wine! Leave all your favorites below and on my travels, it’s my mission to seek them out.
Now for the goods! We have ten bottles below and I just wrote a quick note for you about why I love them. Nothing fancy or too wine-techy (there is an amazing article on food and wine for that!), but since you always ask – these are the rosés that I buy! For sipping, sangria-ing and gifting.
Underwood Rosé
I see Underwood rosé everywhere and honestly, first tried it after seeing it all over instagram. I thought it might be hyped up but I ended up loving it and was surprised at how dry it was. It’s a good one! And I love that it’s from Oregon.
Really wanted to include a canned rosé in this post, but I couldn’t find many – and really couldn’t find one I love. But you can get Underwood in a canned version!
Fabre de Provence
This is the sweetest of the bunch here, but it’s still not SWEET sweet. And it’s so pretty that I’d buy it for the bottle alone… you know? This is a good place to start if you have dry rosé haters in your life. Also great for sangria.
Miraval Rosé
Let’s just throw it out there that Brad and Angelina bought the Miraval castle and got married there. My oh my. This is the priciest rosé in the group (and usually the priciest one I will buy – the prices vary, at my liquor store it was around $30) but it’s delish. It’s full bodied and dry. The bottle is also so pretty! Okay I promise I’ll stop saying that.
Whispering Angel Rosé
Whispering Angel is super smooth and light and frankly… can almost be sipped like water! It’s so perfect on a hot summer day.
Notorious Pink
This is a new-to-me rosé that I only first bought two months ago. But I think it’s my new favorite! Like, getting to be my top favorite. We drank this on Memorial Day when it was 90 degrees around the pool and it was SO wonderful. It’s just so light. At the moment, this is my #2 pick.
Minuty Rosé
If you’ve been following my cocktail posts for a few years, you know that two years ago I discovered Minuty and fell in love. It’s been my favorite ever since. It’s light and smooth and not sweet at all. The bottle? Gorg. (sorry!) It’s my #1!
Aime Roquesante Rosé
This is the rosé that reeeally got me into rosé! Lacy first introduced me to this over three years ago. We drank it for a few years and I bought this most often, until I found Minuty, which I ended up loving a little more. I still really love this one. Dry and delicious!
La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé
La Crema makes some of my favorite wine (their Pinot Noir is practically the only one I drink) and when I found their rosé, I was super excited. This one is pretty dry as expected and it goes super well with a cheese board. It’s a bit on the pricier side though.
Hecht & Bannier Rosé
Another new-to-me bottle this year that I’ve fallen in love with. Very dry and light. And I saw this on two different menus while I was in Nashville this past week. Delish.
Nicolas Pinot Noir Rosé
This rosé is one I recently tried as another Pinot Noir version – and it’s cheaper than the La Crema above. It was also really good. Lacy actually liked this one better than the La Crema – however, Nicolas was her #1 favorite rosé last year, and this year she doesn’t love it quite as much. So crazy how the vintage flavors change year to year.
And now for the best part? Okay okay, one of the best. Isn’t the rosé the best?
THE CHEESEBOARD. OF COURSE.
I like to keep it super seasonal here. Since we’re in June, we have a few strawberries and cherries, some sugar snap peas and the traditional grapes, of course. Can’t skip the olives because everything tart and briney is life. Honeycomb for sweetness. Baguettes and crackers – the seedier the better!
My ideal summer night is full of chilled rosé, a fab cheese board to snack on and a killer playlist. We need nothing else.
Summer Rosé Cheese Board
Ingredients:
cheese
- merlot or syrah soaked cheddar
- gorgonzola or shropshire blue
- brie or taleggio
sweet
- strawberries
- bing cherries
- honeycomb
- grapes
- fresh figs
- fig jam
savory
- prosciutto
- sopressata
- marinated olives
crunchy
- seedy flatbread
- sliced baguette
- breadsticks
- fried marcona almonds
fresh
- sliced radish
- sugar snap peas
Directions:
Arrange it all on a pretty board and go to town!
All images and text ©.
Now that I’ve rambled on about my favorites, tell me yours! There are so many excellent rosés out there and I wish I could get my hands on all of them.
Leave a comment with your favorite rosé (or two?) because I have a huuuuge notes section in my phone filled with rosés to try when I travel. And I’m going to use this comment section as a resource!
Why can’t every day look like this.
