The Original, The Novel, And Most Popular Dry Rosé Wines In The U.S. Market This Summer

When Frankie and Todd (Toad) Williams, owners of Toad Hollow Winery, first produced their dry rosé wine in the mid 1990’s no one wanted to buy it, because it wasn’t the semi-sweet blush wine that was popular at the time. Fast-forward to today when dry rosé wines are all the rage, blush wines have faded away, and Toad Hollow frequently sells out of their dry rosé. But different wine styles are often like that – emerging and then fading like fashion trends.

This summer consumers are overwhelmed with rosé wine choices. Therefore, it is useful to examine some of the original dry rosé wines, along with some of the most novel and popular in the U.S. market today. Table 1 illustrates some of these brands:

Original Dry Rosé Wines from the U.S.

Though it is true that Sutter Home winery is most famous for starting the blush craze with the launch of their semi-sweet white zinfandel wine in 1972, there have been other U.S. wineries that were trailblazers in introducing dry rosé wines to the market. Some of these include Etude and Robert Sinskey in Napa Valley, Wölffer Estate in New York, Erath in Oregon, and Schug and Toad Hollow wineries in Sonoma County.

In a recent interview, Frankie Williams, now President of Toad Hollow Winery, described the rationale for why their winery started producing dry rosé in the 1990’s before it was popular. “Rodney Strong was a silent partner in our winery,” Williams explained, “and he frequently traveled to France where he fell in love with Chablis chardonnay and Provence rosé. Therefore, he encouraged us to focus on unoaked chardonnay and dry rosé wines long before they became popular. So that’s what we did, and those two styles of wine are still what we specialize in to this day.”

But just because the wines were popular in France, it was over a decade before dry rosé took off in the U.S. market. “It was a hard nut to crack,” said Williams. “When we would pour the wine at tastings, people thought that because it was pink, it was going to be sweet. It didn’t matter that I told them it was bone dry; then they would taste it and be surprised. It took perseverance to educate people around the country that dry rosé was OK.”

Toad Hollow’s rosé is produced from the pinot noir grape, and has a delicate floral nose and notes of strawberries and melon. However, dry rosé wine can be made from any red grape, with the most common grapes being grenache, syrah, cinsault, and pinot noir.

Some Novel and New Rosé Wines in the U.S. Market

A few novel and/or new dry rosé wines that are creating positive conversations, and are available in the U.S. market include:

JNSQ Rosé Cru is unique because it is from Paso Robles, California and comes in a beautiful brandy shaped bottle that can be reused as a water carafe or vase. JNSQ stands for ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi,’ which in French is loosely translated to mean: ‘something distinctive or special, but difficult to put into words.’ The wine has notes of fragrant roses and raspberries.

Alma Rosa Vin Gris is a very pale rosé made from pinot noir grapes in the Santa Rita Hills of California. It is distinctive because it uses the term ‘vin gris,’ which means ‘slightly pinkish-tinted.’ In Jamie Ivey’s book, Extremely Pale Rosé, where he and his wife travel all over France in search of the palest rosé wine, it turns out to be a vin gris. This wine has flavors of mixed berries and fresh citrus.

Kim Crawford Illuminate Rosé burst upon the scene in 2021 and frequently sells out. Part of its appeal is that it is one of the new low alcohol and low calorie wines – clocking in at only 7% alcohol, 70 calories and 2.7 carbs per 5 ounce glass. It is from New Zealand and tastes of watermelon and berries.

Garrus of Chateau d’Esclans is famous because it is considered to be the most expensive dry rosé in the world, averaging just over $100 per bottle on Winesearcher. Produced by the same chateau that makes Whispering Angel and The Beach, Garrus is special because it comes from a single grenache vineyard with 100 year-old vines, and is fermented and aged in oak. It is quite complex with notes of passion fruit, herbs and cranberry, and frequently is scored in the mid 90’s by wine critics.

Black Girl Magic Rosé is a light-hearted light pink wine from California with aromas of orange blossom, tangerine, and raspberry. It is special because it is made by the McBride sisters who grew up in separate countries – New Zealand and the U.S. – only to be reunited later in life to become the first sister team of Black female winemakers in the U.S. The 2020 vintage scored 93 points at the 2021 Monterrey International Wine Competition.

Giesen Non-Alcoholic Rosé from New Zealand was just released in the U.S. this summer and is already the 2nd highest selling rosé in the non-alcoholic category after the first month of sales, according to Nielsen (4 weeks ending 6/30/22). It is surprisingly delicious with soft notes of watermelon and peach, and frequently sells out in grocery stores. Made in a traditional fashion of fermenting harvested grapes into wine, it is then de-alcholized by using the spinning cone technology that maintains fresh bright flavors but reduces the wine to 0% alcohol and only 20 calories per 5 ounce serving.

Most Popular Rosé Wines in the U.S. Market by Dollar Value

It may not surprise many brides to learn that Whispering Angel, made by Chateau d’Esclans in Provence, is the number one selling dry rosé in the U.S. market by value and number three by volume, because it is one of the most popular wines served at weddings. This is according to NielsenIQ data, which tracks wines sold in thousands of off-premise U.S. wine retail outlets, and is by dollar sales for the 52 weeks ending 7/23/2022.

The second best-selling dry rosé in the U.S. market by value is Gerard Bertrand Cote de Roses, from the Languedoc region of France. This is followed by another French favorite – La Vieille Ferme. The fourth most popular dry rosé, Josh Rosé, is made in California, primarily with the barbera grape. Number five is the wine first introduced by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie – Miraval made in Provence. The sixth most popular is Notorious Pink, a grenache based wine also from France.

Pairing Rosé Wine With Food

Chef Julia Child once famously stated that “Rosé can be served with anything.” Frankie Williams of Toad Hollow Winery agrees with her: “Other than dessert and steak, you can pair it with most anything,” she says. “Rosé goes particularly well with Thai or Asian flavors, salmon, poultry dishes, lamb, spicy food, most fruit, and grilled veggies. Of course, it is also delightful on its own.”

Williams provides a variety of recipes on the Toad Hollow website to pair with their wines. Some of the unique ones she matches with are: a spicy Moroccan Apricot Lamb Tangine, Hearty Farro Salad, and Baked Rock Fish with Cucumber-Radish Salad. The Toad Hollow Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir from Sonoma County retails for $15 per bottle.