50 rosé wines to try

These are the best rosé wines for enjoying long summer afternoons, the kind to bring to a barbecue, to pair with fresh seafood, or to BYO to your favourite Thai restaurant.

Rosé comes in a broad spectrum of colours, from pale salmon to copper-gold, right through to deep red. The colour of the rosé can often be a clue to the grape variety used during the winemaking process. When it comes to the base grapes used in rosé, popular varieties include grenache, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz/syrah, sangiovese, nebbiolo, montepulciano, tempranillo, mataro/mourvèdre, and gamay.

Rosé wines typically have fruit-forward flavours and floral characteristics like rose petals, violets and hibiscus. It's not uncommon for a rosé to display notes of celery, green capsicum and olive.

Below are 50 of the best Australian rosé and sparkling rosé wines to try.

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If you prefer to learn in a classroom setting, enrol in our 2024 Fundamentals of Wine in-person classes that kick off in May. Our Fundamentals of Wine in-person course includes one two-hour session per week for four weeks. Students will be hosted by Jane Faulkner in Melbourne and Mike Bennie in Sydney. 

Image credit: Wine Australia.