It’s June and summertime for all intents and purposes. It’s hot as hell where I am, so of course, the rosé has been flowing. Yes, I drink rosé year-round (we love it for Thanksgiving), but there is something about summer and rosé when you see all of the new vintages hitting the shelves, not to mention the beach outings and pool-side sipping. Rosé just hits different in the summer.
As I do every year, I participated in a blind tasting of American rosé wines hosted by The Drunken Cyclist and had to choose my favorites. From that, I created my own list of summer 2025 rosé wines.
For the most part these were “intentional” rosé wines meaning that the winemaker pressed the grapes with the intention of making rosé. The other major way to make rosé is what they call “saignée,” where while making red wine, some of the juice is “bled off” (the meaning of saignée in French) to make a more intense red wine. The juice that is removed is then fermented separately into rosé. So it’s sort of a by-product of red wine production. By-product or not, I’ve had some good rosé made in this method. These wines tend to be darker hued, more robust, and more fruit-forward than the direct press rosés. All good in my book.
As for the tasting, I definitely gravitate towards the ones with a good amount of acidity (but not bracing) and prominent fruit characteristics. I like my rosé easy and laid-back. I’m ok with herbs, etc. but when it gets to be more savory than fruity, these tend not to be the style that I prefer. All told, we blind tasted 52 wines this year. In years past, it’s been as many as 74!
Yes, it’s a lot of wine! But you take them four at a time, spit (not optional), take notes, have a snack, and move on to the next flight until you get to the end. It’s definitely harder than many folks realize.
Here are my standouts for this year’s edition. It was cool that a couple showed just as well from the previous vintage. And I love that they came from different regions and in different price points. For a deep dive on tasting notes on the full lineup, be sure to check out The Drunken Cyclist’s summary of all of the wines we tasted.
2023 Clif Family Winery Grenache Rosé, Mendocino County, CA ($30)
Yes, the same folks that gave us Clif Bar. Love that they are a certified B Corp, and wholly embrace organic and sustainable agriculture and fair labor practices.
2023 Alma de Cattleya Rose of Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, CA ($20)
I absolutely adore winemaker Bibiana González Rave. Love her story, her determination, her spirit, her smarts, and her wine!
2023 Pisoni Family Vineyards Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, CA ($24)
Y’all know I have much love for SLH and its first family of wine! This is made from 50% whole cluster pressing and 50% saignée. And one dollar of each bottle sold goes to breast cancer research.
2024 We Know Jack Zinfandel Rockpile ‘Riff Raff’ Rosé, Rockpile, Sonoma County, CA ($34)
I equally love the regular Zin which made my top wines of the year in 2023.
2024 Covenant Wines ‘Red C’ Rosé (Grenache), Lodi, CA ($35)
During a previous tasting of their portfolio, I learned that all of their wines were kosher wines. Definitely not what so many of us thought that kosher wines were!
2024 Penner Ash Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR($40)
Is it even a tasting without Willamette Valley Pinot Noir? I’m being a little dramatic (maybe) but I find their Pinot Noir to be ethereal. So yeah, not shocked about loving the rosé too.
2024 Lange Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, OR ($29)
Jesse Lange was in Houston recently to have dinner with some of us wine peeps and I was so impressed with his wines. He also has a wine that he bottles in a recyclable bottle! So I was thrilled that his wine was one of the ones that rose to the top for me.
2024 Girasole Vineyards Rosé, Mendocino County, CA ($20)
A blend of Zinfandel, Sangiovese, and Pinot Noir that is $20 y’all!! I’ve previously had their Chardonnay and one of the red blends and loved them. Crazy what they do with organic grapes at these price points!
2024 Matanzas Creek Winery Rosé of Malbec, Sonoma County, CA ($45)
I love, love their Merlot, so thought it was kinda cool that they had a Malbec rosé that was so tasty.
2023 & 2024 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir Rosé, Russian River Valley, CA ($25)
Every year, every blind tasting and Rodney Strong makes my list. Every single year! This time we tasted two different vintages and yes, both made the list. And the $25 is just the suggested retail price. I routinely see it for around $15 at the store.
OK, so I was trying to limit my list to 10 (even cheating with combine the Rodney Strong wines) but there were a couple others that could easily have made my list.
2023 Smith Madrone Rosé, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley ($30)
This unusual blend of 50% Merlot & 50% Cabernet Franc required a “do over” for me, but I came to appreciate it after tasting it on its own. It has more “oomph,” including tannins, but is a great example of a rosé that breaks the mold.
2024 La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé, Monterey, CA ($25)
Wines that you can snag lots of places, including the grocery store, aren’t always the best wines. La Crema manages blow that theory out of the water with their sustainable wines. Another wine that can be had for around $15 retail. They also make a sparkling brut rosé that I so enjoy!
Peace, love, and summer 2025 rosé y’all!
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