Chateau D’Esclans Unveils New Rosé in Quogue

By Jessica Opatich

2 minute 05/27/2015

Chateau D’Esclans winemaker Sacha Lichine (second from right) and Ambassador Paul Chevalier (far right) celebrate the launch of Rock Angel rose at Dockers in East Quogue, Photo: Kelly Laffey

For the past few summers, East End restaurants and purveyors have run dry of rosé, the preferred drink of the season, leaving revelers scrambling over Labor Day weekend to find this suddenly elusive pink nectar. In what may be an attempt to mitigate the madness, Chateau D’Esclans, French producers of Hamptons favorite, Whispering Angel rosé, has launched a new rosé, Rock Angel.

Winemaker Sacha Lichine and brand ambassador Paul Chevalier were on hand earlier this month for the release party at Docker’s Waterside Restaurant and Marina in East Quogue. Rock Angel joins Whispering Angel, Les Clan and Garrus in the Chateau D’Esclans lineup.

Made in France’s Provence region, Whispering Angel and Rock Angel won’t be the only rosés on ice in the region. Summer in a Bottle from Wölffer Estate in Sagaponack is a perennial favorite, made locally, that mixes fruit flavors with a refreshing finish for just the right balance.

The North Fork’s Croteaux Vineyards, is solely devoted to serving up rosé, and they claim to be the only vineyard in the country currently doing so. At Croteaux’s tasting barn and garden in Southold, anyone can taste a glass of the fashionable pink drink, ranging from light pink and sweet to crimson, dry and full-bodied.

Farther north, Sparkling Pointe Vineyard, mostly known for their bubbling bruts, also boasts a vibrant and complex sparkling rosé. Their pale Carnaval Rosé’s lingering fruitiness makes it the perfect complement for rich cheeses and meats.

Fingers crossed—with added selections, local rosé will continue to flow long into summer.