Clos Du Bois Celebrates Rouge Launch
Last week, the Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar in New York City hosted the launch of Clos du Bois' newest wine, Rouge.
Complete with a table of overflowing florals reminiscent of the French countryside, dark yet warmly colored walls, plush velour seating, masquerade table-toppers, cancan dancers, a French jazz band, and an absolutely buzzing crowd, the night's Midnight in Paris feel was overwhelming (in a delicious manner).
Click here for the Clos du Bois Rouge Launch Slideshow
The new wine, created from a mix of cabernet sauvignon, petite syrah, merlot, petit verdot, malbec, and charbono grapes, is versatile and clean, and the winery has big expectations for its popularity and pairings.
Clos du Bois winery ambassador Katie Lee described the Rouge as "lighter" and "very jammy." "It goes great with barbecue chicken and even stands up to a grilled porterhouse steak," she said. (She even gave us her own barbecue chicken recipe.) "It's also a good option if you're making a sangria or a punch and you want to serve a red but have it cold," she added. "And looking forward, I think it's going to be the perfect Thanksgiving pairing."
Clos du Bois winemaker Gary Sitton had similar praise for the new wine: "The whole goal for this particular wine is just to make a very fruit-forward, very soft wine. It's something that is appealing to a lot of people who don't actually like red wine because they think it's going to be too dry. That also lends itself to the versatility in terms of food." While he advised red lovers to stay away from a very flaky, light white fish when guzzling the Rouge, he did suggest that halibut or salmon would be two better fish pairing options. One of Sitton's favorite aspects of the wine, however, was its versatility in formal casual settings: "I think it actually lends itself to a lot of different occasions. I mean whether it's a more holiday season kind of thing or whether it's something more casual," he said.
Odette Annable, actress and wine lover (also formerly on one of my favorite shows of all time, ABC's Brothers & SIsters, among her many other TV and movie roles), couldn't agree more with Sitton's comment on the wine's social versatility: "Yeah, I mean listen, number one I love wine," she said. "And I've always loved Clos du Bois. It's solid, it's affordable, it's great. We always have Clos du Bois, whether it's the white or the reds, especially for a dinner party. It's sort of a staple." Annable also had great things to say about The Rose Bar and the Gramercy Park Hotel: "I love this bar... this is my first time here since we moved to New York, but I've been here before and it's always a great vibe and a great place to meet people."
Also in attendance was actress Leslie Bibb, who also gushed about her love of red wine, despite her Talladega Nights character's predilection to Powerade in a martini glass, Budweiser, and Coca-Cola. Bibb commented on reds' more forgiving nature to her food allergies: "I feel like when I drink white wine, it hits them harder than when I drink red wine. Maybe that's just me being crazy but you never know. But I do like a red wine."
Actress Lo Bosworth (of The Hills) and model Selita Ebanks also showed their support for Clos du Bois at the event, spending the evening sipping and eating the various hors d'oeuvres.
On the menu were spoons of steak tartare, mushroom and goat cheese crostinis, mini croque-monsieurs, skewers of grilled short rib spiedino, caviar with vichyssoise, tarte flambée, chocolate beignets, chocolate mousse, and Ladurée macaroons. Wine was passed around by two women clad in slinky red outfits, fitting with the evening's purpose and décor. Cancan dancers bubbled and bounced, and the French jazz band, so-1920s, sang sweet notes that could not help but complement the experience, the food, and most of all, the wine.