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There are only 200 boxes and 200 cases of Bridge Lane Rosé left. (Credit: Lenn Thompson, file)

If you haven’t sampled the North Fork’s 2014 rosés, time may be running out.

It started this weekend when Wölffer Estate Vineyards issued a statement that they were running dangerously low on their popular pink wines and hinted that the supply might not last through Labor Day.

“It’s true: we are running out of rosé,” said winemaker and partner Roman Roth in the email. “It truly is summer in a bottle.  And like the summer, rosé won’t last!

“Pretty much all of our rosé wines will be gone soon,” said Donnell Brown, Senior Marketing Manager for Wolffer. “Our Noblesse Oblige Extra Brut Sparkling Rosé sold out several weeks ago. Both our gold-label Wölffer Rosé and beautiful floral-bottled Summer in a Bottle Rosé are both nearly sold out. Our barrel-aged Grandioso Rosé and new rose from Argentina, Finca Wölffer Rosé (sold only at retail shops and restaurants, not at the winery) will likely last several more weeks.”

At Crouteaux Vineyards in Southold, which exclusively produces rosé, sales are up over 30 percent from this time last year, according to co-owner Paula Crouteau. The winery has sold out of several bottles including its popular 2014 Chloe sauvignon blanc.

“We have two of our merlot roses’ and one of our sparklings. The rest is either sold out or very, very limited quantities,” she said.  “We hope to stay open until Labor Day, that’s our goal. But everything is dwindling, so it’s been a positive year.”

Croteaux ran out of wine by mid-August last year. The winery produced a record 4,000 cases this year, up from about 2,500 cases of the previous vintage.

Meanwhile Lieb Cellars in Cutchogue has tripled its rose production this year to meet the demand, according to general manager Ami Opisso.

“Last year we produced 900 cases, this year we produced 2,700 cases.” Opisso said. “We produced our rosé in all three formats this year, so Bridge Lane Rosé went into bottles, boxes and kegs and we are almost sold out. Our kegs are sold out, we have only 200 boxes left and 200 cases left, we expect that we’ll be sold out by the end of September, if not earlier. We definately saw a surge in sales on both the wholesale side and the retail side.”

Don’t fret just yet, Lieb Cellars’ Sparkling Rose’ is still in good supply, thanks to a later release date.

“We only released that on Memorial Day, but that’s been selling really well too,” said Opisso. “It’s a higher price point at $35 a bottle and we’ve sold about 200 cases just in May, June and July. I think the Sparkling Rose’ will still be available through the holidays.”

 

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