Don’t dismiss that glass of rosé just yet.
The pink wine may be synonymous with summer, but Jeff Arnold wants you to drink it year-round.
“I’ve always loved rosé,” said the sommelier and general manager of High Street on Hudson. “But once summer ends, sales come to a screeching halt. People tend to forget that it still tastes amazing. You have to sell it, as opposed for people just asking for it.”
Though rosé requests drop along with the temperature, Arnold would argue that the colder months are an ideal time to drink it.
“It’s a little bit crisper and colder out — all the smells of the city tend to go away,” he said. “I think it’s easier in the colder months, when there’s not so much of a heavy scent around it, to narrow in and focus on the scents of the wines.”
Here are Arnold’s tips for drinking rosé in the colder months.
Style to seek out
There are many different styles of rosé nowadays, but Provence is the “benchmark” for the wine, Arnold said. “It’s how rosé is supposed to be.”
Keywords to use
If you’re looking for a good rosé to drink this fall, ask for something that’s richer, full and more complex, Arnold advised. And don’t forget to ask your local wine shop for help. “If you’re wine-shy, small wine shops that are independently owned, that’s where they really have the passion,” he said. “They’re happy to show off the product that they chose.”
Favorite bottles
The most popular rosé at High Street on Hudson is a Grenache blend by Napa Valley winery Matthiasson. Arnold is also is a fan of a sparkling pinot noir rosé from Maysara Winery, out of Oregon. “It’s out of this world,” he said. “I personally love selling sparkling rosé in the middle of winter — I think that is the perfect match.”
