Wine drinkers’ ardor for dry rosés continues to grow each year. So much so that navigating the vast seas of pink-hued bottles becomes a challenge. Popular choices such as Caves D’Esclans, “Whispering Angel,” Côtes de Provence Rosé (owned by French luxury titan, LVMH) and La Vieille Ferme Rosé hit international markets in “production line” quantities. They provide safe if uninspired bets.
Just beyond these well-known bottles, though, it is a snap to discover and enjoy intriguing, delicious dry rosés from family-owned wineries. Serve the following wines slightly chilled for ultimate freshness and pleasure on warm afternoons and evenings.
Classic Provence Rosé
Dry, pink rosés from Provence in southern France comprise the most competitive market segment. Facing this challenge, Charles Bieler, a Swiss and American winemaker, founded, with his father Philippe, a new firm called Bieler Père et Fils. Their goal: produce wines of outstanding quality to stand out from other dry pink rosés.
To draw attention, Bieler followed P.T. Barnum’s playbook and launched a nationwide promotional campaign. In 2019, he drove a classic pink Cadillac convertible car over 3,000 miles across the United States including a stop in Pittsburgh. The Warhol Museum’s famous pink cow wall mural provided an irresistible photo opportunity. Bieler also called on restaurants and offered consumer tastings.
The pink Caddie grabbed attention and made people smile. But beyond the marketing ballyhoo, Bieler has a more serious mission of introducing drinkers to a classic, well-made dry rosés, the kind of wine that created Provence’s fame in the first place.
“We purchase fruit grown in vineyards at high elevations with the goal of achieving lower potential alcohol and higher acidity for freshness,” Bieler points out. “Our vineyards are at 1,200 feet above sea level, and we generally pick the grapes two weeks later than in lower elevation vineyards in Côtes de Provence.”
“In Provence the ripe red fruit wants to dominate,” Bieler says. “But for me the definition of dry rosé is to have a tug of war between just a little bit of delicious red fruit — cherry, watermelon, raspberry — and a lot of savory elements of salty, grassy, herbal, mineral and floral.”
He succeeds admirably with the delicious 2022 Bieler Père et Fils, “Sabine” Rosé, Coteaux D’Aix-En-Provence, France (Available nationally, See Wine-Searcher: $14.99), a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and other grapes. The pink “onion skin” color offers raspberry, peach and light herbal notes opening to pure, ripe flavors balanced with crisp, fresh acidity and mineral notes. The wine finishes fruity, but dry. Pair it with classic Mediterranean salade niçoise.
A Southern French Rosé With A Twist
Although located within southern France’s famous Tavel appellation in the Rhône Valley, winegrowers Nadia and Christian Charmasson use a more generic “Vin de France” classification. This allows them to make wines more attuned to what they believe are “old-school” traditions. Their process is completely “natural” in that they use neither chemical treatments nor copper sulfate on the vines. During winemaking, the fresh grape juice receives no sulfites, so natural yeasts spur the fermentation.
Try the distinctive 2022 Domaine Nadia and Christian Charmasson, “Balazu des Vaussières Sept Syllabes,” Vin de France (Available online from Chambers Street Wines, New York, New York, $19.99). The couple uses Grenache, Mourvèdre and Cinsault grapes. The fruit macerates in whole bunches, with stems, skins, and all, for several hours before gentle pressing. This creates the wine’s fetching, pale red color. After fermentation, the wine rests unfiltered on the lees (i.e., the spent yeasts) in vats for around seven months before bottling.
The nose offers delightful aromas of ripe cherries and raspberries with a hint of wild herbs. The palate delivers delicious ripe red fruits and hints of peaches. Vibrant fresh acidity balances the medium concentration carrying through a fruity, dry long finish with notes of pleasant earthiness. Pair it with classic Pissaladière, a traditional Provence flat bread with tomatoes, cured black olives and herbs.
A Miraculous German Pinot Noir Rosé
In northwestern Germany, the Ahr River flows through a narrow valley into the Rhine River. The valley’s extremely steep hillsides, many of which with favorable southeastern and southwestern exposures, create ideal “Mediterranean style” grape growing pockets (i.e., microclimates). Plentiful sun and enough warmth allow red-skinned grapes such as Pinot Noir (a.k.a., Spätburgunder in German) to ripen beautifully in the blue and gray slate soils.
Terraced vineyards have existed here since the Roman era and through the Middle Ages. But it was in the 1980’s when self-taught winegrower Werner Näkel put the Ahr region’s reds on the map with international recognition for outstanding, delicious red wines. In the early 2000’s, Werner’s daughters, Meike and Dörte, graduated from winemaking school and continued burnishing Weingut Meyer-Näkel’s reputation.
In July 2021, catastrophic floods and mudslides tore through the narrow Ahr Valley. The two sisters rushed to rescue the winery equipment and wine stocks, but flood waters trapped them in the building. They narrowly escaped through a window and were stuck in raging water and mud. After clinging for eleven hours to a tree planted by their grandfather, rescuers arrived.
The floods devastated the Meyer-Näkel winery, but the ripening vines high up on the terraced slopes remained. Winemaking colleagues from throughout Germany rallied to assist in cleaning up and miraculously saving the 2021 vintage. Meike and Dörte made delicious wines including the 2021 Domaine Meyer-Näkel, Pinot Noir Rosé, Ahr (available online from The Cellar D’Or, Ithaca, New York: $26.99).
After a short maceration on the Pinot Noir grape skins, gentle pressing of the fruit created the wine’s delightful light salmon color. It offers hints of pleasant effervescence. On the nose, enchanting aromas strawberries and peaches unfold before leading to crisp, fruity flavors of juicy red fruit and ripe honeydew melon with medium concentration. The wine finishes fresh and fruity, yet dry with 12% alcohol by volume. Pair it with pasta primavera or grilled salmon.
White plus Red Equals Rosé
In the southwest where the borders France, Switzerland, and Germany come together, the German Baden grape growing region offers terrific vineyards for Pinots of all sorts—Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and even Pinot Chardonnay. Blending white-skinned Pinot Blanc grapes and light purple-hued Pinot Gris grapes creates the possibility for an intriguing dry rosé.
This is exactly the approach with the marvelous 2022 Enderle & Moll, Weiß and Grau, Baden, Germany (available online from Union Square Wine and Spirits, New York, New York: $22.99). The growers cultivate the vines “naturally” with biodynamic practices. For this wine, they blend equal parts fruit from older vines of Weißburgunder (i.e., Pinot Blanc) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) plus a splash of Müller Thurgau fruit. A patient maceration creates the wine’s deep salmon orange color. Then a gentle pressing of the juice into stainless steel tanks allows natural fermentation to take place. After fermentation, the new wine rests on the lees for ten months followed by light filtration and a small addition of sulfur at bottling.
The wine’s amber color offers vibrant aromas of peaches, apricots, and floral notes. On the palate, yellow stone fruit and citrus flavors wrap in medium concentration with scintillating freshness and a hint of fine tannins. The wine finishes soft and fruity but essentially dry. Pair it with either grilled pork ribs or ham and cheese on baguettes with Dijon mustard..
What the Heck is Zweigelt?
Zweigelt (pronounce zway—gelt) remains a bit of a mystery to American wine drinkers, but in Austria, Zweigelt is the most widely planted red grape variety. The grape emerged when Fredrich Zweigelt hybridized St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch vines and derived a variety somewhere between Pinot Noir and Gamay.
Austrian Franz Türk comes from a family-owned domaine with a three-hundred-year history, and he has a sterling reputation for producing delicious Zweigelt reds. He also readily embraces innovation.
“The idea drives me to draw on our accumulated knowledge and yet always try something new. So, our wines continue to become more distinctive,” Türk says.
It is not surprising, then, to discover his delicious 2022 Weingut Türk, Rosé vom Blauer Zweigelt, Niederösterreich, Austria (Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Code: 88924; $16.99). The wine’s lovely dusky pink color offers red fruit and citrus aromas with a touch of spiciness. On the palate, crisp red fruit and fresh acidity carry through the dry, elegant finish. Only 12% alcohol by volume. Pair it with green salads with grilled chicken and hard-boiled eggs.
Cabernet Franc Rosé…From the Loire Valley:
Domaine Bernard Baudry enjoys well earned fame for its full flavored red wines made from organically grown Cabernet Franc. The wines come from old vines which provide complex, elegantly tannic wines.
But since every vineyard has its fair share of deceased or damaged vines, routine replanting must take place which results in various young vines growing in the domaine’s plots slong the Vienne River, a tributary of the Loire River. Baudry uses juice from these younger vines growing in clay and gravelly soils to produce its delicious, dry 2023 Bernard Baudry, Chion “Le Rosé” (widely available nationally from various retailers–see Wine-Searcher: $26).
After manual harvesting, the grapes are directly pressed before the juice ferments with natural yeasts in unlined cement vats until dry. The wine’s lovely salmon color offers aromas of red fruits and earthiness. On the palate, tasty crisp fruit carries through the dry finish. Pair it with green salad topped with grilled salmon.
Cheers!