Rosé is the fasting growing wine category in the U.S. and is pretty much THE hottest drink of the summer season. It is brighter and more refreshing than a red wine, and more flavorful and versatile than a white wine, making it the perfect choice for sipping on a sunny, warm summer day.
With the explosion in popularity of rosé wines, it has brought about many new kinds to choose from that are all at varying price points. Today I’ve teamed up with Cocktails and Spanx to share our notes and results from a blind rosé wine tasting.
To put together the blind wine tasting, we used a kit found on Amazon with individually numbered wine bags and a pad of scoring note cards. The bags kept the labels of each bottle hidden and allowed us to keep track of which wine went into each glass.
Our lineup of wines included Whispering Angel, Summer Water, Côtes du Rhône, La Ferme Julien and Yes Way Rosé.
Many wine enthusiasts credit Whispering Angel as starting the international rosé movement. This delicate wine includes a blend of Grenache, Rolle, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes and is strikingly pale pink in color. The aromas are fresh and fruity and it remains dry through the finish. The wine is considered an affordable luxury at a $22.99 price point.
Summer Water is dry, light and perfectly crisp — with notes of strawberry, pink grapefruit, and white peach. The pale pink wine is made from a blend of Grenache and Syrah grapes picked early in the season from California’s central coast to achieve a natural acidity that’s ideal for summer drinking. According to Summer Water, their wine is more than the rosé of the season, it’s a state of mind — every drop full of pink-tinted possibility. It is available for purchase on winc.com for $17.99.
Produced from Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault grapes, this dry rosé is fruity and rich with an intriguing and appetizing bitterness on the finish. It is a dark pink raspberry shade and rather full bodied showing notes of cherry, strawberry, honeysuckle and Provencal herb characteristics. This wine can be found at many wine and spirits stores nationwide for $14.99.
Exclusive to Trader Joes, La Ferme Julien is a cheerful dry wine with subtle fruit flavors and a profile with profound lightness. It contains a blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault grapes and shows notes of fresh red fruits, flowers, and citrus. You also can’t beat the price point at only $5.99 a bottle!
Launched by best friends who discovered their love of rosé together over countless summer dinners, Yes Way Rosé is an exceptionally beautiful, high quality rosé that’s sold at an accessible price point. It is dry and complex with tasting notes of strawberry, citrus and white peach and can be purchased at Target stores nationwide for $12.99!
As much as I’d like to say that there was a clear winner from the blind rosé tasting, our group of six people was divided! The results came in with a split of three people choosing the budget-friendly La Ferme Julien and the other three chosing the affordable-luxury option, Whispering Angel. As a close runner-up, nearly everyone picked Summer Water as their next favorite!
What’s your favorite rosé to sip during the summer season? This was so much fun, I think we will host another blind tasting soon with a new lineup of wines!
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