An Expert's Advice On Finding Your New Favorite Rosé Bottle

Not much tops that first sip of your favorite crisp rosé. But finding the one? It's not as simple as just stumbling across the only rosé wine you need to pick up at the store. They say that success is a lonely road, but Amy Racine, Beverage Director and Partner at JF Restaurants, emphasizes that the process shouldn't be a solo effort. "Shopping for a great bottle can be hard on your own," she says, "So I suggest talking to the experts at your favorite wine shop." With this sociable starting point, it's easy to facilitate the ultimate hack to finding the bottle of your dreams — exploring by region. Enquiring about the region of origin is one of the questions you should always ask when buying wine.

"Provence, France, is renowned for its pale, elegant rosés with delicate fruit flavors," Racine explains. "In contrast, Bandol, also in France, produces more structured, full-bodied rosés with notes of spice and minerality. Tavel, another French region, is known for its dry, crisp rosés with a touch of bitterness. If you venture beyond France, Tuscany in Italy offers vibrant, fruit-driven rosés crafted from the Sangiovese grape." It's not just geography; you're forming a map of tastes. And mapping out a wine-tasting plan becomes far more experiential when you begin to think about the bottles at a deeper level.

You know to check the region and its specific tasting notes. But what about spotting green flags when finding the best bottle of rosé to buy? Always check for consistent and non-hued coloring, intact seals, and an absence of excessive sediment. Unopened bottles can — and do — go bad on supermarket shelves, usually thanks to inadequate transportation or storage conditions. Double-check before buying; the last thing you want is a spoiled bottle of rosé.

Obviously, green flags for taste vary massively depending on the customer's likes and dislikes. Amy Racine acknowledges the difficulty of judging bottles by their cover, admitting, "There aren't many visuals on a bottle that can indicate the quality for what you are going to buy." However, that doesn't mean you're completely helpless. "One exception being the lighter the color, the shorter the maceration time, or the time with the skins," she explains. "So typically, the lighter the color, the lighter the fruitiness and body. A fuller body and darker color is neither good or bad, it just comes down to personal preference."

Another tip? Scan the label for the alcohol percentage. A lower figure correlates with fresher-tasting wine; think under 13% for an aperitif and no more than 14% alongside main meals. When you do find that perfect match, there's one rule: Don't hold on to it. Rosé is best consumed within a year of purchase, not stored long-term — last-minute buyers, rejoice.