Danseuse, Julie et Toby Bainbridge 2022

Julie and Toby Bainbridge are the kind of winemakers you want to spend an afternoon with – passionate, unpretentious, and making wines that taste like they should cost more than they do. Based in the Loire Valley, they work with a local grape variety: Grolleau (in white, gris and red) that most people have never heard of, farming organically and intervening as little as possible.

This sparkling rosé is made from lightly macerated Grolleau, a nearly forgotten Loire variety that deserves far more attention. It's a traditional method sparkling , which is the same method of production as Champagne, creating elegant bubbles with a fine complex palate. 

What you get is something lively and refreshing – wild strawberries, white peach, a hint of citrus blossom, and that characteristic pet-nat cloudiness that tells you nothing has been filtered out. It's the kind of wine that works equally well as an aperitif on a warm evening or alongside oysters, fresh goat cheese, or a simple seafood platter.

The Bainbridges are part of a new generation of winemakers who are proving that natural wine doesn't have to be challenging or weird – it can just be delicious, honest, and great value. This is exactly that.

Serve it well-chilled and don't overthink it.