Warm weather means it’s rosé season, with consumers already clamoring for pink wines at restaurants and from their local wine shops. But if rosé is such an easy sell this time of year, what about its sparkling counterpart?
Sparkling rosé has benefited from both the popularity of rosé and the strength of the sparkling wine market, the latter of which has outpaced still wine growth in recent years. Even classic sparkling wine regions have invested in their rosé production: Though it historically accounted for just two to three percent of the region’s production, rosé Champagne comprised 9.7 percent of the region’s exports in 2023, a number that has been on the rise over the past decade or so. And in a move that underscores producers’ view of sparkling rosé’s potential, the Prosecco DOC legalized rosé Prosecco in 2020.
To find out which sparkling rosés are exciting wine professionals right now, we polled retailers, sommeliers, and beverage directors around the country. These are their favorites. (All wines are listed with price per bottle at the noted establishment.)
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Champagne Leclerc Briant Brut Rosé NV, Champagne, France; $69
Selected by Kaleigh Brook, manager, The Thief Fine Wine and Beer, Walla Walla, Washington
“Oh man, is this producer knocking it out of the park!” says Kaleigh Brook, the manager of The Thief in Walla Walla, Washington. Leclerc Briant was one of the first in Champagne to use organic and biodynamic practices, and the house has been Demeter-certified for more than 20 years. This rosé is almost entirely Chardonnay with five percent Pinot Noir, and it’s very red-fruited, says Brook, with notes of morello cherry, raspberry, and orange peel. “Their wines all have a sense of refined tension and nerve,” she says. “It’s weighty and textured, but just delightful.”
AT Roca Clàssic Penedès Rosat Reserva 2021, Penedès, Spain; $28
Selected by Richard Roettgen, general manager, The Meteor Cafe, Austin, Texas
At The Meteor Cafe, a combo cafe, natural wine store, and bike shop, general manager Richard Roettgen looks to Catalunya for sparkling rosé that shines—but this time, not to Cava. Instead, he looks to AT Roca, a producer founded in 2013 and dedicated to the new wave of Spanish sparkling wines. “The DO Clàssic Penedès was formed in 2012 to highlight top-quality Catalan sparkling wine and is one of the only appellations in the world to require organic certification,” says Roettgen. The zero-dosage blend of Macabeu and Garnatxa is zippy and bone dry, with a bit of toasty brioche and plenty of minerality.
Bisol ‘Jeio’ Prosecco Rosé NV, Veneto, Italy; $25
Selected by Kathryn House McClaskey, founder, House of Wine, Boise, Idaho
Since rosé Prosecco was introduced to the U.S. several years ago, it’s become a key part of the sparkling rosé market. Kathryn House McClaskey, the founder of House of Wine, not only carries the Jeio Prosecco Rosé in store—she poured it at the shop’s grand opening in December. “It was a huge hit,” says House McClaskey, who loves the wine’s bright acidity and juicy melon, grapefruit, and strawberry notes. “It’s a delicious and affordable way to drink pink bubbles.”
Laherte Frères Rosé de Meunier NV, Champagne, France; $175
Selected by Stevan Miller, beverage director, Esmé, Chicago
Aurélien Laherte has developed a reputation for quality, practicing organically and biodynamically to make wines that are “alluring yet bursting with flavor,” says Stevan Miller, the beverage director at Esmé. The Laherte Frères Rosé de Meunier sits in Esmé’s “contemporary” category, which “represents the next generation of winemakers making their mark by exploring new forms and techniques,” he says. Entirely made from Pinot Meunier, it is racy and minerally with a dosage of just 2.5 grams of sugar per liter.
Paltrinieri ‘Radice’ Lambrusco di Sorbara 2023, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; $52
Selected by Brent Kroll, owner, Pop Fizz, Maxwell Park, and Trouble Bird, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. sommelier and restaurateur Brent Kroll launched Lambrusco Week eight years ago, but misconceptions abound about this sparkler. “People sometimes still think of Lambrusco as sweet, or as just a red wine, and this doesn’t check either of those boxes,” says Kroll. Made entirely from Lambrusco di Sorbara—the lightest of the Lambrusco grapes—the Paltrinieri ‘Radice’ is decidedly pink in color, with lots of tart cherry and strawberry fruit and a bit of citrus zest. In a move that is atypical for the region these days, it’s bottle fermented and not disgorged. “If somebody wants to try something that’s natural and geeky but doesn’t have any faults, this is adventurous without being weird,” says Kroll.
Oyster River ‘Morphos’ Rosé 2023, North Fork of Long Island, New York; $25
Selected by Nikaline Iacono, owner and wine buyer, Vessel and Vine, Brunswick, Maine
Maine wine shop Vessel and Vine aims to highlight American wine producers who are doing things differently, changing the perception of U.S. wines, and operating in a socially and environmentally responsible manner—especially those on the East Coast. “We love the Oyster River Morphos Rosé for all of those reasons,” says owner and wine buyer Nikaline Iacono. Oyster River Winegrowers is located in Warren, Maine, but sources Merlot from the North Fork of Long Island for this pét-nat. Despite its natural tendencies, the wine itself is clean and elegant. “It is a great way to introduce our customers to the world of natural wine, and a great way to showcase the talent that can be found in this state,” says Iacono.
Val de Mer Sparkling Rosé Non Dosé NV, France; $62
Selected by Rebecca Flynn, sommelier, River Pointe Inn, Rumson, New Jersey
Val de Mer is the second winery of Patrick Piuze, a winemaker who has taken Chablis by storm over the past two decades. Rebecca Flynn, the sommelier at River Pointe Inn, is a big fan of the winery’s non-dosage sparkling rosé, a traditional-method, all-Pinot Noir sparkler from vineyards in Tonnerre, just northeast of Chablis. “The wine is racy and lean with a nice pop of red fruit,” says Flynn. “I think it’s a great price for a super elegant sparkling rosé from a top producer in northern Burgundy.”
Ameztoi Hijo de Rubentis Cuvée Rosé 2016, Getariako Txakolina, Spain; $81
Selected by Gabriella Borg Costanzi, service and wine director, Le Crocodile and Bar Blondeau, Brooklyn, New York
Ameztoi’s Txakolis have won over many wine professionals over the years, including Gabriella Borg Costanzi, the service and wine director of Le Crocodile and Bar Blondeau, who loved how easy and light they were. When she was first introduced to the Hijo de Rubentis—Ameztoi’s traditional-method, fully-sparkling rosé made from the indigenous red grape variety Hondarrabi Beltza—she was ready to love it. “Old vines, extended aging, lovely soft fruit—what’s not to like?” says Borg Costanzi. She notes that the fruit is light with a slight bread-like quality, and though it has added weight from lees aging, “it’s still delicate and refreshing.”
Champagne Voirin-Jumel Rosé de Saignée NV, Champagne, France; $99.97 per 1.5-liter bottle
Selected by Alessandra Esteves, cofounder and director of wine education, 305 Wines, Miami
Most rosé Champagnes are made by blending a bit of red wine into white, but rosé de saignées are the exception to this rule. This method relies on skin contact with red grape skins—as most still rosés do—and typically results in deeper-hued Champagnes. “I love rosé de saignée Champagne for its structure, fuller body, and intense berry flavors,” says Alessandra Esteves, the cofounder and director of wine education for 305 Wines. “It is a super versatile champagne.” This grower-producer’s domaine is located in the Côte des Blancs village of Cramant, but the Pinot Noir grapes for the Voirin-Jumel Rosé de Saignée come from Mareuil sur Aÿ, in the Vallée de la Marne. “Contrary to the common belief that deeper rosés are sweet, this one is an extra brut with a dosage of only six grams of sugar per liter,” says Esteves.
Dispatch
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Courtney Schiessl Magrini is the editor-in-chief for SevenFifty Daily and the Beverage Media Group publications. Based in Brooklyn, she has held sommelier positions at some of New York’s top restaurants, including Marta, Dirty French, and Terroir, and her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast, GuildSomm, Forbes.com, VinePair, EatingWell Magazine, and more. She holds the WSET Diploma in Wines. Follow her on Instagram at @takeittocourt.
