Latest news with #rosé
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
All the celebrity rosé wines ranked: From Angelina Jolie to Cameron Diaz and Meghan Markle... one A-lister will be left VERY sour
It seems every celebrity has a side hustle these days, and many of them start in a vineyard. Earlier this month, Meghan Markle finally released her anticipated As Ever rosé priced at a whopping $30 per bottle.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Sommeliers and wine experts reveal the best Whispering Angel rosé alternatives
Cited as boosting the worldwide rosé market, Whispering Angel has won itself a loyal legion of sippers, thanks to attractive marketing, subtle flavouring and A-lister approval. Produced deep in Provence, the coveted pale vino became the most talked-about tipple of 2021 after Adele told US Vogue that her supermarket runs during lockdown consisted of ketchup and the cult wine. 'Whispering Angel turned me into a barking dog. It did not make me whisper,' said the singer when referring to her favourite plonk. A blend of cinsaut, grenache and vermentino grapes, the wine is loved for being very pale and very dry, with subtle flavours of orange, red fruits and a little dried herbs and spice. But with a price tag of £25, it's one of the more upmarket rosés on store shelves. True to form, supermarkets like Aldi and Asda have been quick to develop alternatives that don't merely nod to the OG but appear carbon copy (the former boasts a similarly italicised label while the latter is wryly called Screaming Devil). Elsewhere, sommeliers namecheck Miravel and Leoube (both cost less than £18) while wine enthusiasts on TikTok love M&S's la balconne and Lidl's breath of paradise bottle. 'Whispering Angel is a great wine, as is its more refined offering,' says wine writer Katie Brook. 'But are we paying for quality or a name?' In a bid to help you keep costs down ahead of your next summertime soirée or wine-fueled dinner party, I went to the experts. I asked them to share their favourite affordable alternatives to Whispering Angel. What to look for in a Whispering Angel alternative "I always recommend looking to the regions in and around Whispering Angel's home, the southern French Mediterranean region of Provence – so look for labels that say Languedoc, Pays D'Oc, IGP Méditerranée or Corsica,' says The Independent 's weekly wine columnist, Rosamund Hall. By looking in these regions, 'you'll find wines made using similar grapes. They'll have a familiar appearance and taste: delicate pale dusty-pinks with aromas of fresh summer berried fruits, hints of orange zest, and of course a beautiful, uplifting acidity', she explains. Lucy Hitchcock, the wine enthusiast behind the @Partnerinwineuk social media account, explains: 'The peculiar thing is, a lot of the Whispering Angel 'dupes' that are popping up now, are actually Sainte Victoire Cotes du Provence rosés.' This region has recently become the first 'cru' of Côtes de Provence, noted for its distinctive terroir. 'Sainte Victoire is a very specific quality area of Côtes de Provence, with a specific microclimate producing beautifully balanced grapes,' Hitchcock adds. For those looking for a swap-out Provencial rosé, Emilee Tombs, wine writer and assistant travel editor at The Independent, suggests the Loire Valley. 'While it might not offer better value, rosé wines from this area of northwest France have a similar dry, crisp style with red fruit and citrus notes.' Meet the experts Lucy Hitchcock is the wine enthusiast behind the @Partnerinwineuk social media account. She has nearly 100k on Instagram and 65k on TikTok, with her reviews of Aldi or M&S bottles regularly going viral. Emilee Tombs is assistant travel editor at The Independent and holds a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. She has written for a number of wine publications, from Noble Rot to Ocado Life magazine. Katie Brook is a journalist with a specialism in wine and a decade of experience as a wine reviewer. She is the founder of Run To Wine, a London- and Surrey-based running club that ends its sessions with a wine tasting. Rosamund Hall is a writer, presenter and columnist specialising in wine and spirits. She is The Independent 's weekly wine columnist with 'The Wine Down' and writer of the best rosé wines. Tom Gilbey started winemaking at age 23, then became an importer, wine merchant, and advisor. He shares his recommendations on his website, as well as to his 666k followers on Instagram and 218k on TikTok, aiming to demystify the world of wine.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
We asked a wine expert to try Meghan's rosé. This was her verdict
To much fanfare, Meghan Markle last month released her very own Californian wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Syrah. The launch of the Napa Valley rosé follows the release of the Duchess's line of fruit 'spreads' (that's jam, to you and I), 'edible' petals (not quite potpourri), herbal tea, crepe and shortbread mix, plus orange blossom honey under her As Ever moniker. The Provençal-style rosé is touted on the bottle as: 'Effortlessly elegant - crafted for slow afternoons and golden-hour gatherings... the essence of sun-drenched outdoor moments.' The rather boozy offering, at 14.5 per cent ABV, retails at £22 ($30) per bottle and is sold in cases of three (plus an extra $20 for shipping). After managing to bag an order of the sold-out wine, The Telegraph enlisted Diane Gross, a wine expert and the owner of Cork, a wine bar in Washington, DC, to give her verdict. Gross knows a thing or two about rosé. Her wine bar, which she opened nearly 18-years-ago, offers 350 varieties of wine ranging from $10 to $400 a bottle. The bar also has a rosé menu served exclusively on their patio. To truly put the wine to the test, Gross conducted her tasting blind. As Ever was concealed in brown paper along with two other bottles, one from California and another Provençal rosé, to avoid bias. Once the glasses were poured, giving her first impression on what turned out to be the Duchess's glass, Gross said the millennial pink wine is 'the colour of rosé everybody likes.' 'I'm getting a little more on the nose here,' she said, adding it had notes of cooked fruit, red fruits, cherries, spice, and candy. Gross continued: 'The wine isn't sweet at all, it's just sort of that top note of tutti frutti, like, it's a little bit like your chewing gum. But it's not a bad thing at all, it happens a lot in rosé.' She also described the wine as a little 'hot', meaning that the taste of alcohol is a little overwhelming. In the blind test, Meghan's wine was her least favourite compared to the other two pale rosés, a French blend with notes of lime and strawberry, and a citrussy Californian offering. However, she insisted she enjoyed it: 'I like it, it just tastes like it has darker fruit notes. It has that sweet-salty finish that you sometimes get with rosé. 'It has a little bit of a blend, the fruit, and the minerality comes through.' But asked if she'd take it to a dinner party the answer was a resounding no. 'When I go to somebody's house, I only take wine that I love. Whether it's going to a party, and I'm bringing a $12 bottle, or I'm going to a nice dinner and I'm bringing a $50 bottle, I only take things that I absolutely love,' she said. 'Probably I wouldn't take it for that reason, okay, but that's [just] me. 'I don't think it would be embarrassing to turn up with it. I think people would think it was super cool, and it tastes good.' And the price point? 'I don't think anybody would be disappointed buying it at $30. It's a tasty wine that folks will enjoy and not feel they have spent too much,' she said. When it comes to the celebrity wine genre, Gross is sceptical but not totally dismissive. She said: 'I would always want to look more, how involved is [the celebrity] really? Are they just putting their name on it? Are they involved in the growing, tasting, the blending?' She conceded that the Duchess had given it a good go. Beyond having a 'nice bottle' and a 'pretty logo', Gross said. 'It seems like some thought went into this, and that there is the style that she's trying to get to. 'For me, that means it was intentional and she was thinking about it, as she is tasting and figuring out what she wanted to do. 'She could have put her name on anything,' she said, adding: 'This was an intentional project, where she really thought about what the wine represented, and what she wanted to represent, which was California.' Gross, who is also from California, says that genuinely comes through. 'You have these beautiful winds, you're on the water,' she adds, somewhat wistfully. A punter's verdict 'I liked Meghan's wine the best' I genuinely liked Meghan's wine the best out of all we had tasted. To me, the notes of Cabernet Sauvignon - one of my favourite grapes - were strong and bolshy, adding an element of peppery spice. To drink, it felt almost velvety and was buttery on the palate. Its bright profile made me think of gold, although perhaps more of the kind you get with costume jewellery, that turns brassy over time. The smell was my least favourite thing about it, reminiscent of the vaguely artificial tang when someone near you opens a bag of Skittles, or something a little soapy. Overall, I enjoyed it but I would probably be equally as happy with a chilled glass of your local supermarket's finest £10 pinot blush. The best things I sampled in Cork was the chips — recently crowned the best in the city, according to Washington City Paper. Perfectly fluffy morsels in golden, frangible, oil-kissed jackets, smothered with herbs and garlic and served with a brothy homemade ketchup that was more akin to a luxurious tomato bisque than a squeeze of Heinz. If Meghan had a product of that calibre, she'd have a returning customer in me. 'It burned the back of my throat' Like our expert, Meghan's rosé was my least favourite of the three we sampled. Let me preface my review with the disclaimer that while I am one of life's great wine lovers, I am far from a connoisseur. My tastes are narrow and specific; Sauvignon Blanc, namely from Marlborough, New Zealand; Vinho Verde, Provençal rosé, Lambrusco, the occasional Crémant and champagne when the occasion calls for it (and sometimes when it doesn't.) As Ever did not have the refreshing qualities I look for in a rosé. It burned in the back of my throat, and I found the taste aggressive. For that reason, Meghan's latest labour of love will not earn a place in my restrictive wine rotation.
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
14 best supermarket wines, chosen by experts and sommeliers
Whether you're after a crisp French rosé for a summer dinner party, a zesty Chardonnay to enjoy at a barbecue or a softly bubbly pét nat to try, the wine selection from supermarkets has never been better. From the viral 'chicken wine' (La Vieille Ferme Rosé) and Asda's tongue-in-cheek alternative to Whispering Angel, Screaming Devil, to Aldi's £9.99 orange wine, social media has helped democratise the wine world. 'Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable, more savvy; they can look anything up on the internet,' says Libby Brodie, wine consultant and columnist. 'Wine is a whole aisle now, as people want more variety as well as value, and supermarkets have wisely chosen to invest in their wine buyers and relationships with producers – because this is how most of us buy our wine.' This means that supermarkets are catering to more refined tastes, explains Sinead Murdoch, sommelier and co-founder at Tasca. 'Now top wine buyers are working for supermarkets, and the growing competition is raising the standard of what ends up on the shelves.' But discovering a truly great bottle at a supermarket is still tricky, so I went to the experts. From sommeliers to wine influencers, these are the best vinos from the local shops, as chosen by industry heavyweights. Meet the experts I spoke to qualified wine consultants, restaurant sommeliers, TikTok-viral influencers and wine critics to find the best bottles to sip in summer 2025. Libby Brodie is a qualified wine consultant with years of experience in the industry. She is the founder of Bacchus & Brodie Wine Consultancy, which personally curates wine selections for individuals or events. Katie Brook is a journalist with a specialism in wine and a decade of experience as a wine reviewer. She is the founder of Run To Wine - a London- and Surrey-based running club that ends its sessions with a wine tasting. Sinead Murdoch is a sommelier and co-founder of Tasca, a restaurant in London. Following a formal training, she headed up front of house at Shoreditch restaurant Bistro Freddie. She then spent time in Provence at Gallifet Art Centre, where she curated the wine list. Lucy Hitchcock is the wine enthusiast behind the @Partnerinwineuk social media account. She has nearly 100k on Instagram and 65k on TikTok, with her reviews of Aldi or M&S bottles regularly going viral.
Forbes
18-07-2025
- Forbes
The Wines Of Provence are Showing That They Are More Than Pretty In Pink
Two bikini-clad holidaymakers posing outside the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, in the south of France, ... More 1958. (Photo by) 'Interesting' is hardly high praise for the wines of any region, and too often that adjective, as well as phrases like 'quite good' and 'dependable,' are all too often applied to the wines of France's Mediterranean region of Provence, which gets its name from once being a province of the Roman empire. Tomes of 900 pages have been written about Bordeaux and Burgundy, but the authoritative Larousse Wine lumps Provence in with Corsica in less than a dozen pages, asserting 'Sunshine, vacations and rosé: This is the image of Provence.' The Oxford Companion to Wine dismisses the region in less than one page, calling it 'full of potential,' which is what a French school teacher jots down about an average student. Franck Perroud wine waiter at la Résidence de la Pinede Hotel and restaurant poses by a selection ... More of rose wines in St Tropez, Southern France. Rose wine producers are working hard to change their products' identity. / AFP PHOTO / Yann COATSALIOU (Photo credit should read YANN COATSALIOU/AFP via Getty Images) Granted, Provence is well regarded for its rosé wines––80% of its production––and the Cȏtes de Provence, a patchwork of parcels, some cooled by the northern mountains, others scorched by the southern sun, has delightful wines if you can ferret them out. In recent years serious attention has been given to ripping out the traditional Carignane grapes and re-planting with more Rhȏne red varietals like Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. This photo taken on August 12, 2020, shows a bunch of grapes in Espira-De-L'Agly, southern France, ... More on August 12, 2020, during the wine harvest. - Every year, the harvest in the Agly valley, flooded with sunshine 300 days a year, is the first in France, starting with dry white wine grape varieties. According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, "on average, the harvest takes place 18 days earlier than 40 years ago" in France and the advance of the harvest date is "an effective marker of global warming". (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) Yet every wine lover who has spent time on the French Riviera has memories of an enchanting luncheon while overlooking the sea, smelling the flowers and sipping on a cold Provençal wine. Usually it's a rosé with some body and color, rather than the pale, innocuous examples that sell for a few euros. But that's also the good news about Provence wines: They rarely cost very much, rarely about $25, yet provide simple pleasure, not least in their tropical aromas and herbal notes. I'm finding that the most delightful bottlings are coming from the regions of Bandol, Bellet and Cassis. Production and expansion of vineyards has been restricted in Bandol, east of Marseille, because it's become so popular as a resort, with all the usual overdevelopment––it's less than three-and-a-half miles square. Still, the Mourvèdre, which has long been planted in the area, has a fine late ripening virtue that brings the sugar and alcohol to make for a full-bodied red. Bellet is even smaller and most of its wines is consumed in the surrounding area, but ferreting out a bottle of flinty Bourboulenc or Rolle (what the Italians call Vermentino) is worth the effort for a well-structured white wine. Cassis, increasingly encroached upon by the expansion of the city of Marseille, is tinier still, known for its white wines made from Clairette and Marsanne. (It is not to be confused with the cordial named Crème de Cassis, which is made in Burgundy.) A good number of Provence wines that come to the U.S. are, well, interesting, but the better producers are also fairly well represented on wine store shelves. Look for labels like Château Miraval, made with Grenache, Cinsault, Tibouren and Syrah; Guele de Loup de Roquefort, which has a component of Cabernet Sauvignon tannins to add body; and Domaine de Trévallon, which has been compared to a good Bordeaux, with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged for two years and takes to further aging, so that you can still find the 2010 vintage, though selling for a whopping $185. I have enjoyed the all-organic Château Gassier ($25), founded in 1982, organic, for its rosé is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Rolle, from clay and limestone soil in the Cȏtes de Provence and Cȏtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire appellations. It is fresh and very ready to drink this summer with grilled poultry and salmon. Sacha Lichine is Bordeaux born, but he was educated and worked extensively in the U.S. before becoming a highly regarded negoçiant in 1990, since purchasing Château d'Ésclans in Provence. His Pale Rosé($18) is a simple but refreshing rose of Grenache, Rolle, Syrah and Cinsault. Château Malherbe makes rosé, white and an impressive red wine ($55) from Syrah, Mourvèdre, Black Grenache, by the fourth and fifth generations of the Ferrari family and crafted by Jean Laburthe in collaboration with Burgundy's Philippe Pacalet. Inexpensive and perfect for a Pronevcal luncheon. Jean-Luc Colombo and winemaker Laure Colombo make a pretty Cape Bleu Rose for only $19––one of those sip by the shore wines with a baguette and French ham and cheese.
