Jay McInerney’s long-rumored and much-anticipated debut wine column in The Wall Street Journal launched this weekend, April 10-11. His “Rose-Hued Memories Of a Summer Night” reminded me of the first time I drank anything rosé, which was in high school.
My friends and I had acquired some wine coolers from a friend’s sibling who was of legal age. After a few too many episodes of overindulgence on the sweet juice I switched to beer and never looked back to Bartles & James.
For years thereafter, I veered away from anything in a glass with such a pink hue, associating the fruit drink from my teen years with what can actually be a very pleasant, dry wine. But in recent years, rosé has emerged and become en vogue, particularly at this time of year.
McInerney focuses exclusively on rosé Champagne. While he mentions two of my favorites – Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé and Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé – he excludes one of my favorite grower Champagnes: Roger Coulon Brut Rosé. Yet, these selections retail for north of $50 a bottle, and rosé Champagne in general can be cost prohibitive. As McInerney eloquently says, “If great Champagne is the vinous equivalent of a white diamond, then rosé Champagne is a pink diamond – rarer and yes, I’m afraid more expensive.”
Even looking to one of my non-Champagne favorites, the Murgo Brut Rosé, consumers will pay up. The Sicilian wine is made from the Nerello Mascalese grape but sells for just under $50.
An alternative is a Prosecco Brut Rosé from the northern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, made from the prosecco grape and able to be purchased for less than $20.
Of course, nothing will be as inexpensive as those wine coolers from my youth. I still can’t believe I drank them, but we all start somewhere. McInerney had his Cold Duck, and I my Bartles & James.
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