House Wine: Rosé
2018 GOLD: 1 SILVER: 4 BRONZE: 3 COMMENDED: 5
2017 GOLD: 3 SILVER: 2 BRONZE: 3 COMMENDED: 2
There are few categories in the Sommelier Wine Awards that are approached with trepidation by our judges – they’ve even learned to like Pinotage down the years. But this is one of them. While it’s relatively straightforward to make half-decent white and red wines to a budget, rosé is a different story entirely. We’ve had some dreadful years in this category in the past.
This, hearteningly, was not one of them. While there was only one Gold (Badet Clement’s La Cour des Dames stepping up a notch from its Silver last year) our tasters were not horrified by what they found and medalled rosés in a variety of styles, including a white Zin. Yes. Sommeliers gave a medal to a blush Californian…
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘At this price you want wines that people can have without food.’ Nigel Lister, team leader
‘There’s a place for blush wines in pubs and brasseries. These wines have a target group.’ Andre Luis Martins, Cavalry & Guards Club
‘When you’re choosing a house rosé, the cost and the colour are two of the main things, especially during the summer.’ Charles Pashby-Taylor, consultant
‘There were several wines where we were quite divided – it begs the question “what are we looking for in a rosé?” I think we all have our own thing that we’re looking for. Customers never ask what it is – they just drink it because it’s rosé. But they do ask what colour it is.’ Sue Jones, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn
‘House wine is one of the hardest categories. You want a wine that says something about you as a restaurant.’ Jade Koch, team leader