"For rosé lovers, this is supposed to be the best of times—the new pinks are out, and they’re begging to be had, straight from the bottle if you must, under a bright sun.

But where the heck is the sun? For that matter, where are all the good rosés? I’ve picked up several random ones lately, looking for something that would stick, and they’ve all tasted like strawberry Kool-Aid. The American ones did. The French ones did. The New Zealand one especially did. Was this just my bad luck? Yes. But it is also reflective of what rosé producers seem to have tapped into: No longer the hick cousin of the wine world, rosés are a chance to make some money. And they’ll especially make money if they’re sweet, since that’s the American way.

There is one spot in town where rosé folks can get down, and how: Nightwood, which for the summer is having what they’re calling a fête de rosé—a rosé celebration, if you will. The idea was John Hohensinner’s, who buys the wine for Nightwood and Lula. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” he says. Only now, with the kind of wine storage that Nightwood allows, did he have the opportunity.

Hohensinner’s list of pinks is 16 bottles strong, with most of them available by the glass. I’m going to go ahead and posit that it’s one of the largest selections of pink by the city, at least for a wine list of this size, and certainly of options by-the-glass. There’s an off-dry bottle or two on the list—Hohensinner wanted to represent the entire range of rosés—but mostly this is a list of dry, food-friendly wines. Some of them are rare enough that they’ll be gone in a matter of weeks, but they’ll be replaced with other rare rosés that are currently in reserve. Asked what inspired him to start this fête, Hehensinner  said “I certainly didn’t create the rosé phenomenon that’s going on—but I’m trying to get Chicago on board.” Writing the city’s—possibly the country’s—best by-the-glass rosé list seems like a pretty good start."

Three Cream wines are on Nightwood's list:
Maysara Rosé of Pinot Noir 'Roseena,' Oregon
Quivira Grenache Rosé, California
Palmina Botasea Rosato, California