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From new rosés to light reds: The best bank holiday bottles for that sunshine feeling
From bright, blossom-scented fizz to elegant rosés and easy breezy reds – Rosamund Hall rounds up the best bottles that taste like summer, whatever the weather decides to do.
I often wonder why we don’t celebrate the new year in the springtime. In some ways, it’s the time of year that feels the most celebratory. All of life is bursting, and it’s utterly joyous. Is there anything more life-affirming than streets lined with blossoms? When it comes to springtime drinking, it feels like the perfect season to embrace all styles. Now that the tulips are well and truly popped, it’s time to rekindle your friendship with rosé. In this guide, I’ve included a breadth of regions that extend far beyond Provence, with charming, wallet-friendly options from both Aldi and M&S.
Sparkling Wines
Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne, France
Waitrose, £37.50 (any mixed six, 25% off until 07.04.26), RRP £50, 12.5% ABV
The dreamy, floral-emblazoned bottle alone screams “spring”! It’s the definition of freshness and finesse, with long, languorous bubbles delivering aromas of white blossom, soft peaches and the bounciest of warm, freshly baked brioche.
Graham Beck Brut Rosé, South Africa
Majestic, £12 (mixed six), £17.50 (single bottle), 12.5% ABV
Talk about a wine punching above its pay grade! Graham Beck wines never disappoint. This elegant sparkling rosé is made in the same method as champagne and is full of aromas and flavours of cream-filled, raspberry-topped Danish pastries with fine bubbles.
Jansz Premium Cuvée Rosé, Tasmania, Australia
Vinum, £18.60, 12.5% ABV
Wild and expressive, Tasmania, off the coast of South Australia, is making some of the world’s most exciting wines, with Jansz regarded as one of the best sparkling producers in Australia. A blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, it’s brimming with delicate red-fruit aromas that evoke a bowl of strawberries and cream. Beautifully concentrated with refreshing acidity, the flavours just keep giving.
M&S Collection Saint-Gall Brut Champagne, France
M&S (in-store), Ocado, price varies
A beautiful champagne made by one of the best cooperatives, Union Champagne, sourced from some of the best sites in the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. A chardonnay-heavy blend with a touch of pinot noir, an uplifting bite of fresh green apples, a delicate nutty note and warmed, buttered toast.
Terra Organic Ribolla Gialla, Italy
Ocado, £12, 10.5% ABV
Are you stuck in a prosecco rut? Why not switch to this other Italian sparkler? It has an appealing nose of pink grapefruit, nectarines and oh-so-gentle bubbles; it’s a pretty and effortlessly easy-drinking sparkler.
Rosé Wines
Rosé de Xinomavro, Thymiopoulos, Greece, 2024
The Wine Society, £14.95, 12.5% ABV
This is a glorious reminder that rosé can be a gastronomic and sensorial wine, not just a poolside sipper. A beautiful medley of crushed cranberries, bitter orange zest, dried roses, alpine strawberries and a little wild-herbal edge; from gyros to rogan josh, it’s supremely food-versatile too.
M&S Bardolino Chiaretto Rosé, Italy, 2024
M&S (in-store), Ocado, £8, 12% ABV
An uncomplicated but delicately pleasurable pink that will leave you yearning for a lakeside recliner on the banks of Lake Garda (where this rosé comes from). It’s beautifully bright with aromas and flavours of fresh raspberries, nectarines and a little citrus twist.
Te Pā Rosé Marlborough, New Zealand, 2025
Co-op, £10.95, 12% ABV
An energetic pinot noir rosé with a gorgeous peony-pink colour, full of ripe red cherries, early-springtime rhubarb, and a beautiful cream-laced edge. It displays great complexity for the money.
Arc Du Soleil Camargue Rosé, Famille Perrin, France, 2024
Sainsbury’s, £8.75 with Nectar until 7 April (RRP £10.50)
What do the chicken wine and Brad Pitt’s Miraval rosé have in common? They’re both made by Famille Perrin, the winemakers behind this fantastic rosé. Super pale with aromas of fresh citrus, white peaches and a mineral herbal edge, this is a very crowd-pleasing style. If you double-dip on the Nectar combined with Sainsbury’s mixed six deal, which runs until 4 April, it’s a bargainous £6.56!
Specially Selected Organic Costa Toscana Rosé, Italy, 2024
Aldi (in-store only), £7.99, 12.5% ABV
Lively and fresh with tingling raspberries, hints of red cherries and a lovely bitter-orange pith note, you’ll be dreaming of enjoying a glass under the Tuscan sun.
Domaine de Chinière Rosé, Saint-Pourçain, France 2024
Yapp, £13.95, 12.5% ABV
Made from 100 per cent gamay (Saint-Pourçain is a village in the far reaches of the Loire Valley, close to Burgundy), this is an expressive rosé with aromas of delicate blossom, soft, summer-ripened strawberries, and uplifting, zesty acidity.
Tesco Finest Sancerre Rosé, France, 2024
Tesco, £16, 12.5% ABV
This is a consistently impressive wine from the Tesco Finest stable, made from handpicked pinot noir grapes from a limited area in Sancerre, in France’s Loire Valley. Expect an elegant glass full of redcurrants and early-ripening strawberries, with a steely, mineral edge and impressive length.
White Wines
Co-op Irresistible Grenache Blanc, Paul Mas, Languedoc, France, 2024
Co-op, £9.25, 13% ABV
I love Grenache blanc at this time of year. It’s a great place to transition from the richer whites of winter to zippier summer expressions. The Co-op’s example has a soft texture with yellow peaches, apricots and a subtle vanilla edge.
Specially Selected Muscadelle, Côtes du Tarn, France, 2024
Aldi (in-store only), £9.99, 11% ABV
From the underappreciated southwestern French region of Tarn, Muscadelle is springtime in a glass. A floral delight with a ripe stone-fruited accompaniment that feels breezily fresh and delicate.
Ascheri Gavi di Gavi DOCG, Italy, 2024
Tesco, £13.95, 13% ABV
This is from one of the world’s finest and most beautiful wine regions, Piedmont. It’s a wonderfully aromatic white with a full, peachy note alongside jasmine flowers, bitter almonds and a long-lingering mineral finish.
Inama Soave Classico, Italy, 2023
Majestic, £16 (any mixed six), £18 (single bottle), 12.5%
If you want a fine wine without the price tag, buy this, or indeed any wine from the producer Inama. This is a lifetime away from cheap soave. It’s an expressive glass full of soft apricots, a hint of acacia honey, all brought together harmoniously with mouthwatering citrus acidity.
Light Red Wines
Mimo Moutinho Algarve Red, Portugal, 2024
Aldi (in-store only), £6.99, 13.5% ABV
A generous, silky-smooth, easy-drinking red that’s full of ripe plums, dark berries, and hints of sweet spice. An uncomplicated “sun-soaked” glass.
Poulsard, Domaine Jean-Louis Tissot, Arbois, France, 2023
Yapp, £18.75, 13.5% ABV
Don’t be fooled by the almost translucent colour of this wine; it’s a pour that feels like it’s bursting out of the glass with energetic promise. With beautiful notes of rose petals, bright raspberry and amarena cherries, it has a deft lightness of touch that delivers layers of flavour.
Fixin, Albert Bichot, Burgundy, France 2022
Waitrose Cellar, £24.75 (any mixed six 25% off until 7 April), £33
The village of Fixin lies between Dijon and Gevrey-Chambertin. This example, made by one of the region’s most respected producers, is a sleekly offered, concentrated pinot noir with aromas of forest-floored undergrowth, roses, muddled redcurrants and a hint of sweet spice. A fine match for a seasonal feast.
Cape Quarter, Boekenhoutskloof, Stellenbosch, South Africa
M&S (in-store), Ocado, £12, 13.5%
An enveloping blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, made by the talented winemaking team that brought the world “The Chocolate Block”, yet it’s about half the price. Expect a glassful of ripe, brambly dark fruits and a smoky edge, with full yet smooth tannins.
M&S Maison Riveraine Fleurie, Beaujolais, France, 2024
M&S (in-store), Ocado, £13, 13% ABV
A consistently high-quality gamay from one of Beaujolais’ most famous cru villages. This medium-bodied wine gives layers of red fruits, some darker, ripe cherries and a wonderful freshness.
El Pacto Ojo Gallo, Rioja, Spain, 2022
The Wine Society, £16, 13% ABV
A sublime contrast to vanilla-oak-soaked riojas, this vibrant example is full of crushed cranberries, alpine strawberries, sweet peonies and a rosemary-herbal twist.
Graham’s Blend No12 Ruby Port, NV, Portugal
Ocado, £29, 19% ABV
Port is having a moment, but why not make it one you can mix into a long drink too? This ruby port is a triumph as a spritz, mixed with crémant or prosecco and garnished with a strawberry for a spring/summer lift. Or simply enjoy this fresher style of port that’s full of ripe strawberries and red cherries on its own, chilled to perfection of course.
