Brasserie 19 wine buyer Wendi Kfoury recommends two rosés.
Who: Wendi Kfoury, wine buyer for Brasserie 19
Background: Kfoury has been a manager with Clark Cooper Concepts for six-plus years and recently returned to Brasserie 19 as the general manager. It’s important, Kfoury says, “to offer a wine program with familiar choices that our guests find comfortable and familiar.” However, she “loves it when they are willing to take a journey with me and try something new.” These two wine picks reflect “ah-ha” moments Kfoury enjoyed a few years ago. “Getting to see someone with that same eye-opening feeling and excitement,” she explains, “is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.” What: 2016 Chêne Bleu Rosé and 2016 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay Rosé Why: When most people think of French rosé, they immediately think pink wines from Provence. But neither of Kfoury’s favorites hails from that region, although the Chêne Bleu (“Blue Oak”), made in a winery housed in what centuries ago had been a glass factory, is located in the similarly warm and sunny Southern Rhone, neighboring Provence. Mont Ventoux, the iconic Tour de France climb, looms in the distance, and the famous wine village of Gigondas is only a short drive away. The property, Kfoury says, is completely isolated by forests, hills and valleys, which creates a very unique terroir. The wine is a “perfectly pale pink, notably rich while remaining fresh and bright. Aromas of rose and jasmine balance nicely with notes of strawberry and mandarin.”
As for the rare rosé from Bruno Clair, it’s 100 percent pinot noir. Clair’s grandfather was, in fact, the first to vinify the grape — in 1919 — as a rosé in Marsannay, the only appellation in Burgundy that produces red, white and pink wines today. The rosés tend to age extremely well.
Price: $35 for a bottle of the Chêne Bleu and $37 for the Bruno Clair at Brasserie 19, 1902 W. Gray