Six bubbly pinks for Valentine’s Day

True to its reputation for pioneering and innovation, Robertson Winery launched the first Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine in South Africa.

Their Brut Rosé is delightfully pink and dry with a vivacious sparkle. It has enticing floral and candied fruit aromas, juicy wild strawberry flavours and a generous aftertaste. Decidedly moreish, it is refreshingly fun, fruity and very easy to love. Super for summer sipping and celebrations, serve it well-chilled to keep the bubbles and flavours at their peak. This is a sparkling wine and not a bottle-fermented MCC, which is why it is perfectly priced at R60-65 per bottle. Get it countrywide at leading grocers and liquor retailers.

Krone Vintage-only Méthode Cap Classique is produced on Twee Jonge Gezellen wine estate in Tulbagh. Their Brut 2018 is a blend of 87% Pinot Noir (hence the hue) and 13% Chardonnay. An enchanting salmon pink colour, this wine has a floral bouquet of rosewater that meets the sweet-sour-salty scent of coastal sour figs. Fresh red fruits – pomegranates and cranberries — take centre stage on the full, soft palate, unfolding into candied orange and white-fleshed nectarine. The vivid acidity is cushioned in a fine, creamy mousse, finishing with lingering notes of toasted hazelnuts.

It goes with pretty much anything – from charcuterie to crusty bread with ripe camembert, from salmon with crispy skin and wild rice to porchetta or even duck with cherries. Krone Vintage Rosé Cuvée Brut 2018 is widely available nationally in select liquor retailers and grocers at approximately R150 per bottle.

Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte is the number one selling Champagne in France and the third biggest-selling Champagne brand in the world. The exquisite bottle (not a woman in the world could resist this über prettiness) is inspired by the famous Sakura (cherry blossom) season in Japan.

This Rosé Champagne, bursting with red summer fruits, is made in a Brut style and is composed of 45% Pinot Noir for roundness and structure, 45% Pinot Meunier for fruitiness and soft, supple character and 10% Chardonnay, for elegance and finesse. A gorgeous pomegranate pink, this wine showcases a cavalcade of redcurrant and raspberry notes along with a hint of strawberries. It is fresh and vibrant with a touch of floral enchantment. Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut Rosé retails nationally for around R780.

Few brand names evoke the extraordinary indulgence of truly premium Champagne quite like Bollinger does. These folks really know what they’re doing. After all, they’ve been doing it since 1829. The Bollinger Rosé is a blend of 62% Pinot Noir, 24% Chardonnay and 14% Pinot Meunier from 85% Grand or Premier Cru vineyards – that’s fancy French for the best of the best of vineyards and grapes. The Bollinger Rosé is an exceptionally polished Champagne, an aromatic, perfectly balanced wine of great complexity and sophistication.

The Bollinger Rosé entices with a beautiful salmon pink colour, a velvet mousse and fresh, pure redcurrant, cherry and strawberry aromas. The palate is rich and refined, perfectly combining power with freshness. It has a silky texture, juicy wild berry flavours, a touch of creaminess and a lasting fresh berry finish. There are few occasions in life when us everyday folk get to pop the cork on a bottle like this. If you’re going down on one knee this Valentine’s Day and still have some dosh left over after leaving the ring shop, this is the bubbly to seal the deal with. Bollinger Rosé, packaged in a gorgeous gift box, is available nationally for approximately R1230.

If sparkling wine and Champagne are not really your thing but you still want something pink and seriously festive, Van Loveren’s Perlé de Jean is the answer. Perlé wines – wines with just the slightest hint of fizz – were huge in the 80s and early 90s. Now Van Loveren have revisited this old-school favourite with a perlé made for our 21^st century sensibilities. It’s a 100% Pinot Gris wine from 6-year-old vineyards. Dry and unwooded, on the nose you’ll find plenty of red berries and melon as well as ripe citrus with a hint of lemon at the end. It’s great with seafood (especially prawns!) chicken, salad and anything vegetarian. Get it countrywide around the R60 mark.

If wine-wine is not to your liking, turn to Van Loveren’s Four Cousins Fiver. It may be wine-based, but it’s very firmly in the wine/fruit juice mix category. If something like Brutal Fruit makes you happy, Fiver is sure to delight. It’s sweet with loads of fruit flavours and an alcohol level of just 5%. Serve it seriously chilled. Fiver costs about R80 for a six-pack.