Rosé all May—and all summer, y’all! It’s officially rosé and since I have a feeling we will all be hanging out at home more than most years, I wanted to share a roundup of my favorite rosé wines under $30 that you can easily enjoy on your couch or patio (if you’re lucky enough to have one!).
I’ve been a big fan of rosé for years and proudly drink it year round. I order it at most restaurants I go to, save for a margarita from time to time, so I’ve tasted my fair share of great, decent, and really terrible glasses of the good stuff over the years. I also have tried most that line our grocery and liquor store shelves, and the eight bottles I’m recommending below have my full endorsement. While most are closer to the $15/bottle price point (which is generally where I hang out these days!), a few on the list are closer to the $30/bottle price point—and for me, those are “splurge” wines for a special occasion. (Of course, when I go to a restaurant, I spend $15 for a glass of wine, so it’s definitely cheaper, too, to drink at home! Though let’s be real, right now, I really miss overpaying for a glass of wine at a restaurant.)
If y’all have a favorite rosé, please drop it in the comments below—I always love finding new ones to try! And, if you’re looking for the best wine glasses, these are my all-time favorites. I’ve become kind of a snob about the wine glasses I like, and these are nice and thin, which is my preference.
Lastly, if you live in the DC area and love rosé, definitely consider joining Screwtop’s rosé wine club. For $40/month, you get two new bottles of rosé to try (though in May we were treated to three bottles for the same price!), along with a 10% discount on their retail shop, a 5% discount on your bar tab, and (when we’re able to!) access to their monthly wine tasting parties. It’s a great way to try new wines while also supporting a local business.
One housekeeping note—below, I tried to link to websites where everyone could shop the wine, regardless of whether or not you’re DC. Think Total Wine, Wine.com, World Market, Drizly, or the wine’s website itself. As you’ll note, a lot of these I discovered at my favorite local wine bar, screwtop, so if you’re having a hard time tracking any of these down definitely reach out to a local wine place near you. They might already have it on hand or be able to special order something for you—or recommend something even better!
I also wanted to note the first photo in this post doesn’t have all of the wines listed in this post because #quarantine! I used a photo I had versus running to the store to grab all of these wines at once.
Now, without further ado, here are my favorite rosé wines under $30!
Right before everything really shut down, I went to screwtop and stocked up on a bunch of wine. I bought this Atlantique Cab Franc Rosé, truthfully, because the bottle looked pretty. Sometimes, you can judge a book by it’s cover, because I think this is my FAVORITE rosé ever (probably tied with Bleu de Mer, below!). It is so crisp, not sweet, and so refreshing. It’s really hard to track down online, but I’ll let you know if I find it. If you’re local, you can grab it at screwtop or Swirl & Sip in Mosaic.
It’s no secret I love Rough Day Rosé! You may remember, I recently did a campaign with them on Instagram. I had never tried their wine before, but they sent me some over to make sure I liked it before I posted and recommended it to you all, and it has my stamp of approval. It’s available in most grocery stores and Targets along with their other varietals!
I first tried Mouton Cadet Bourdeaux Rosé last October at New York City Wine & Food Festival, and was so excited to find out it is a really budget-friendly buy. It’s so delicious and crisp (if you couldn’t tell, I’m not a huge fan of sweet wine!). I had a hard time tracking it down at first, but now I’ve realized it is almost always available at Safeway and Giant.
My parents have a fridge in their basement that is dedicated just to drinks, and one of the best parts of going to their house is opening up a bottle of this D’autrefois Pinot Noir Rosé. We stock up on this anytime we go to Total Wine!
This Bleu de Mer Rosé is the first one that I considered an ALL-TIME FAVORITE, and I ordered so much of it one summer at screwtop that half the waitstaff called me the “Bleu de Mer Rosé girl.” Made in France, like my Atlantique Rosé recommendation above, this one just tastes so damn good. It is also hard to find online, but if you’re in the DC area, you can grab it at Pearson’s!
If you’re heading to the beach anytime soon, pack up a bottle of Smooth Sailing Rosé! Like Atlantique and Bleu de Mer, I discovered this one at Screwtop, and it’s a great budget buy wine. It’s a little more fruity than some of the other wines on this list, but still not too sweet.
While many love Whispering Angel, I am partial to its younger sister, The Palm Rosé. Made by the same folks, I think this one tastes just as good and is usually about $5-10 cheaper, depending on where you buy it. Plus, that label is cute.
The name on this one speaks for itself—Summer in a Bottle Rosé by Woffler Estate in the Hamptons. The bottle is beautiful and this rosé is just so easy to drink. It’s usually about $29 at my liquor store, so it just slides in under the $30 price point, but it’s worth the money.
