Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/23459
TASTING REPORT Drinking Pink R osé sparkling wines used to be dismissed as bubbly just for girls or, possibly, weddings. At long last, it seems that all wine drinkers—not just those who were already in the know—are taking rosé sparklers seriously. Every year THE TASTING PANEL throws a holiday party in Los Angeles for regular tasting attendees featuring champagnes and a few other sparklers. In 2010, the theme was rosé, and about 80 corks were popped on around $5,000 worth of the foamy stuff. The fête was held at Waterloo & City, the white hot gastropub in Culver City. Most sparkling rosés are made by adding still Pinot Noir wine to a normal colorless cuvée. A few, most notably the wines by Roederer, are produced using the more traditional method of macerating the grape must in contact, for a brief time, with the skins. My notes on this entertaining and enlightening tasting follow. —Anthony Dias Blue ROSÉ CHAMPAGNES AND SPARKLING WINES BRIGHTEN OUR 2010 HOLIDAY TASTING photos by Amy K. Fellows january–february 201 1 / the tasting panel / 79