Major League Baseball (MLB) has added a French rosé to this season's "Cincinnati Reds Club Series Wine Collection." The wine isn't exclusive to Reds fans — sadly, it was also bottled as a New York Yankees-branded wine.
To which Reds fans can scoff and say, “Remember the 1976 World Series?”
But we digress. Nostalgically.
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A release from MLB marketing partner Wines By Design says the French pink — a blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc — is the first rosé ever released as part of the team-branded wine venture. It’s the eighth wine release for the Yankees, and the second for the Reds. Apparently, Reds fans need to put down their beer steins and start buying and drinking more wine.
“Rosés are perfect while at a baseball game, or while watching from home,” Diane Karle, CEO of Wine by Design, said in a release.
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The firm’s marketing materials describe the wine this way: “Soft salmon in appearance, this wine offers clean, bright fresh strawberries and rose petals with tropical notes and stone fruit ... medium-bodied, (with) crisp acidity and a hint of sweetness with a juicy, dry finish.”
The Cincinnati Reds Rosé “is an officially licensed MLB product offering a direct association with the team and Major League Baseball,” a release assures us. And for any would-be bottle counterfeiters out there, be aware that “each bottle has a hologram affixed to ensure it is officially licensed,” a release said.
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The Major League Baseball web site's list of retailers that carry the Cincinnati Reds Rosé includes Jungle Jim's in Fairfield and Meijer stores in Miiddletown, West Chester and Loveland, but no retail outlets in the immediate Dayton area. We're checking to see whether other retailers carry the wine and will update this story if we find any.
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Some previously released Reds-branded wines are offered for online ordering on the MLB site, but there is no online ordering option available for the Cincinnati Reds Rosé. A Wines By Design spokeswoman told this news outlet this morning, Aug. 16, that because the rosé is a limited-release wine, it will be available only at retail stores.
Those lucky enough to score a bottle can raise a glass of pink to the Reds. Or to next season.
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