“What do you feel like drinking tonight” “ I don’t know, how about Rose.”
“We brought the Rose!!!”
“Summer housewarming, the Rose will flow!”
Those three phrases and more was what I heard all summer. Rose, Rose and more Rose. You would think it was the only wine style people drank from Memorial Day to Labor Day in NYC, The Hamptons, and beyond. While “summer wines” always tend to be more popular during those hot months, where all you dream about is a crisp glass of something with the perfect acidity to go with your lobster roll, I was astonished this summer season to see so many people flock towards this one specific type. People who normally don’t drink wine, and who might not even know how Rose is made, or that a Cabernet grape, be it Sauvignon or Franc, can make some of the most spectacular Rose wines out there, could not get enough this summer.
Take the weekend of July 25th for example. I went out to Montauk with a few friends for a weekend of fun in the sun. On Saturday evening, we thought it would be a great idea to head down to Crow’s Nest- an amazing restaurant overlooking the water. Well, apparently we were not the only ones with that great idea; when we got to the restaurant there was a 3.5 hour wait! Nonetheless, we decided it was worth it and to wait it out at their water side bar-a bar that served nothing but ROSE! (and oysters…). That is literally what their sign said….ROSE. No name of the winery, no vintage year, no nothing…just Rose, that’s all anyone cared about anyway, right? Well, about 3 hours later, after a beautiful sunset and about 4 bottles of this mystery Rose, that was certainly all we cared about. The Rose also helped the blow when our table was given up to Charlie Hunnam, lead in Sons of Anarchy.
There’s a Severe Rosé Shortage in the Hamptons
”The New York Post reports that the Hamptons is “running dangerously low” on the wine. Restaurants are even ordering “emergency” pallets. This is perhaps the most dramatic rosé shortage since 2012, when Hamptons wine shops limited sales to four bottles a customer.” –Maggie Lange
So what is it about this wine? Does the BranGelina factor come into play that much here? (for those of you know don’t know, they bought a vineyard in the south of France a few years ago and started producing their own Rose wine). I’m not sure. All I do know is that when Page 6 of the New York Times stated that “Rose Running Dangerously Low in the Hamptons,” it probably caused everyone in the city to stock up before heading out east. I, fortunately, already had my favorite bottle of Argentine rose chilling in the refrigerator and didn’t need to panic.
