Feature Coverage

Nine sparkling rosé wines for Valentine’s Day

“Sparkling wine is perfect for any romantic occasion. (Actually, it’s appropriate for any occasion — like, it’s Tuesday night! — but I digress.) For the day that’s all about romance,
Valentine’s Day, I like a bubbly with a hue that evokes roses and candy hearts: rosé sparkling wine.

“The best rosé sparkling wines — produced by the traditional méthode champenoise — are fairly dry. In addition to a rosy color, they often have more body and red fruit flavors
than nonrosé bubblies. That makes rosé sparkling wine a good choice to drink with a meal. The additional weight stands up to a greater variety of dishes.

“Rosé bubblies can range from very pale to salmon-colored to pink. The color usually is achieved by blending a little still wine made from pinot noir or pinot meunier into the
sparkling wine, although it can also result from the process that’s generally used to make rosé table wines. Juice is bled off from red grapes after only limited contact with the
skins, which is where the color is. That lightly colored juice then is used to make the wine.

“If rosé sparkling wines have a drawback, it can be price. That’s particularly true with Champagne, where rosé wines can be considerably more expensive. With many California
sparkling wines, the price difference is modest to nonexistent.

“You’ll find rosé sparkling wines from almost all of the world’s appellations that produce bubbly. Some very special wines (such as high-end Champagne) can be hard to find. But
you should be able to find most of the wines that follow at a well-stocked supermarket, chain liquor stores like BevMo and, in some cases, Costco. …

“… Schramsberg is one of the state’s top producers of sparkling wine, and its 2012 Brut Rosé ($44) is round and fresh, with pretty berry fruit, some minerality and a touch of
creaminess. The winery also has a second label, Mirabelle; the nonvintage Mirabelle Brut Rosé ($29) has ample red fruit and a brioche note. At the other end of the price
spectrum, Schramsberg also makes the splurge-worthy 2007 J. Schram Rosé ($150), which is yeasty and full-bodied, with red berry fruit and a long finish. …”

Laurie Daniel, February 8, 2016
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Nine sparkling rosé wines for Valentine’s Day