Rosé has its day, the longest one of the year
With shaved head, thick beard, tattoo sleeve and the kind of gregarious, jocular Pittsburgh personality that could fill an airplane hangar, Lou DiDonato looks exactly like the kind of guy that’d slap you on the back while he’s telling a story and working a cigar with a drink in his hand.
You just might not expect said beverage to be a delicate pink wine.
The 39-year old manager of the Grapperia in Lawrenceville now has some namesake juice from one of wine’s hottest trends — especially in hot weather — rosé.
Mr. DiDonato’s collaboration with Pittsburgh Winery, “Sweet Lou’s Brosé” (emphasis on the BRO) aims to capitalize on interest in this young pink wine while appealing to male drinkers.
“Rosé is the wine equivalent to the standard cosmopolitan,” Mr. DiDonato said. “It’s generally aimed at a female market, But it’s had a huge resurgence. I don’t want to seem like the bro-y guy, but I kind of wanted to get the stuffiness out of wine.”
He said the wine made from Napa Gamay grapes is “off dry, a little watermelon forward. People really like it. I thought they would only order once, but they are ordering it over and over again.”
Launched in May, this rosé is available at a half-dozen local restaurants. And it’s not alone.
In honor of the summer solstice Wednesday, seven Pittsburgh restaurants will participate in the “Longest Day of Rosé” — a daylong happy hour that starts at noon and continues until the sun sets just before 9 p.m. They’ll feature specials on rosé and cocktails that employ the wine, such as the Penjamo 75 at Union Standard, Downtown,
which is made with tequila, grapefruit, lemon juice, simple syrup, mezcal and rose.
Later this summer, Riverlife will host its annual Party at the Pier with a “War of the Rosés” theme, featuring rosé alone and in cocktails.
Alyssa McGrath is the beverage director at Casbah in Shadyside and a self-confessed rosé afficinado. She explained that the wine gets its distinctive color because the red grapes have limited skin contact, as low as 8-10 hours in the production process.
“They are light and approachable and with a slightly different complexity than white wines. They stand alone as their own thing and have their beautiful depth of structure and color,” she said.
John Gratner is the Pittsburgh account manager for The Wine Merchant, a Philadelphia-based distributor of premium wine. He says rosé consumption is outpacing that of champagne.
“It has been building for a while. Restaurants and wine bars of significance will have a substantial rosé presence. It’s moved from a novelty to where the public expects it.”
Rosé has finally come of age here, he said.
“It’s always been a thing in the real wine regions of the world — France, Italy, Spain — but it was not something that was really imported.”
He said that modern winemaking techniques help imported rosé remain fresh.
“The good stuff wasn’t coming over so we got domestic white zinfandel instead. They’d only had this artificially sweet wine from California, and never experienced beautiful, elegant light pink wine from the south of France. It’s like discovering a new art form.”
Mr. Gratner recommends that a rosé novice simply buy a bottle.
“Most bottles are only $12$20,” he said. “You can get a world-class rosé for $30. You’d be hard-pressed to even spend $30.”
At Casbah, Ms. McGrath offers a rosé flight for customers interested in exploring the wine. Choices include Greek, Lebanese, French, Italian and American vintages.
“Pink wine is for everyone — not just fancy ladies,” she said with a laugh.