Rosé Recommendations To Beat The Heat

Michael Cinque, owner of Amagansett Wines and Spirits, isn’t just a wine aficionado, he also makes the stuff— his own brand of rosé is sold under the name Mikey 5, a play off of his Italian surname. 

Rosés, he says, are the perfect drink for a heat wave. “In this humidity, if you drink even the best white wine, your palette is going to burn with acidity,” Cinque said, “With a rosé, because of the contact with the grape skin, you’re going to get flavors— cassis, strawberries, floral notes.”

Cinque went on to explain the way a  rosé is made.  “To make a  rosé,” Cinque said, you crush the grape for its juice and keep the skin and juice together for about six days, which leaves just enough color.” He went on to explain that stronger tasting  rosés can be made by pouring off the excess juice, leaving a larger proportion of the skins and increasing both the color and flavor.

Though Whispering Angel and Miraval, a joint venture between Famille Perrin and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a short stout bottle, is selling quite well, Cinque prides himself on his curated selection. “We sell Ferraris, the other guys sell Chevys,” Chinque said, “That’s just the way it is when you’re passionate.”

Cinque recommends any rosé from the smaller towns in Provence— specifically Bandol. For comparison, he said, “It’s like saying Georgica instead of saying the South Fork.” In particular, Cinque recommended Chateau Pradeux, selling for $22.99 a bottle, and Domaine La Bastide Blanche, selling for $18.99. “I wouldn’t sell them if I didn’t love them,” Cinque said.

Additionally he spoke highly of the work of Wolffer Estates and Channing Daughters rosés, both of which sell for $14.99 a bottle. Bedell Winery’s Taste Rosé 2012, however, is the one he has customers sampling at the counter. A mix of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Syrah grapes, the $14.99 bottle has what Cinque describes as “notes of fresh wild flowers,” and is owned by Michael Lynn, formerly of New Line Cinema.

 For gifts, or those seeking an extra flair to their summer drinking, Cinque also recommended rosé sparkling wines and champagnes, commenting that, “Normal champagnes are too dry and yeasty for this heat.” 

“Besides,” Cinque said, “when Dom Perignon first invented Champagne it was a rosé.”

For a deal, he recommends Lucien Albrecht’s sparkling rosé from France’s Alsace region, selling for $16.99.

“Rosés,” Cinque said, “are like bagels. No one just wants to order plain. The three rules are simple: buy enough, put them in the fridge when you get home, and they’re ready when you are.”

Amagansett Wines and Spirits is located at 203 Main Street and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., till 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and till 5 p.m. on Sundays.