It’s never been more popular to drink the pink stuff, and with good reason. You might assume that dainty light pink bottle of wine isn’t for you –– that it’s sickly-sweet, for people who don’t really like wine. Forty years ago you might have been right, but in the midst of the resurgent popularity of dry European-style rosés, pink wines have something to offer almost any wine drinker.Rosés are not only a perfect, refreshing wine to sip in the spring, summer and fall, but pair excellently with many foods. Rosés, especially dry ones, are usually made with red grapes, but the skins are sorted out of the mix after the grapes are crushed. This brief contact lends the wine its pinkish hue, and stops the wine from having the heavy tannins imparted by the skin of red grapes. Because of this unique status “between” red and white wines, rosés are versatile and complement everything from delicate salads to garlicky seafood. (They’re the traditional pairing with a salad niçoise in France.)The Angel Is Whispering----------------------------------Whispering Angel [http://esclans.com/whispering-angel/], a rosé made by Cheateau d’Esclans in Provence, France, is one such imported rosé with following all its own.“Oh, a lot of people come in for that,” the elderly liquor store owner opines with an air of curiosity when I ask him where it is.If exclusivity is the real engine of fashion, Whispering Angel’s profile was probably boosted following fears that stocks would run out after it had become the drink of the summer in the Hamptons last year. It’s the second most searched-for rosé on wine-searcher.com [LINK: http://www.wine-searcher.com/top-wines.lml](only beaten out by Dom Pérignon Rosé), and has had spawned not only its own brand of so-popular-they’re-back-ordered Whispering Angel-infused gummy bears made by Sugarfina [LINK: https://www.sugarfina.com/shop/candy-shop/collection/yes-way-rose-collection/], but an actual following in the form of a group that calls themselves the “Whispering Alenes.”That’s the chosen pseudonym of fans of the comedy podcast, Bitch Sesh: A Real Housewives Breakdown. (The “Alene” part of the name is a Real Housewives in-joke.) [http://www.earwolf.com/show/bitch-sesh/] Theoretically devoted to Bravo’s Real Housewives reality franchise –– itself a melange of aspirational lifestyle porn and all the drama, manufactured and otherwise, that comes with following a group of mostly middle-aged, mostly upper-class frenemies around with cameras –– the podcast and its 12,000-member-and-growing (which may explain the empty shelves at some locations) private Facebook group’s (private lest any of the Real Housewives themselves catch wind) free-ranging comedic conversations frequently return to a secondary topic: Whispering Angel. In nearly every episode, co-host and former SNL cast member Casey Wilson regales listeners with stories of times her wine of choice, “the Angel,” has “whispered” to her and has guests do taste tests, rating “the Angel” against other wines. On the Facebook group, in addition to posting about the antics of and professing love and hatred for various Housewives, members post photos of bottles of Whispering Angel, detail where to find it in every state –– and some other countries –– and at what price, and even share photos of empty shelves. A screencap of a text to a husband with a request for Whispering Angel is paired with a picture of two bottles and the caption “you know he’s a keeper.” Members in areas where Whispering Angel isn’t available lament their geographic disadvantage. Liquor sellers across the country are probably scratching their heads, trying to explain the sudden uptick.Whispering Angel isn’t the only rosé of choice; some members of the Whispering Alenes have spoken up that they prefer sweeter varieties, with fans and detractors alike citing Whispering Angel’s gamey notes. What they can all agree on is that rosé is a light drink perfect for the summer.Domestic options-------------------------If something closer to home sounds more your speed, we have some options at www.minnesotauncorked.com/whispering-angel-rose-wine
