My Poker Group Chat is Named After the Overpriced Rosé They Serve When We Play. To Dive Me Crazy.

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Death to Whispering Angel! My Poker Group Chat is Named After the Overpriced Rosé They Serve When We Play. To Dive Me Crazy. Joel Stein Aug 20   READ IN APP   When my friend “L.A. Adam Sachs”¹ invited me to his poker game, I nervously asked if it would be weird if I brought wine instead of beer. He told me he was bringing a bottle of rosé. I figured this was his way of telling me not to bring wine to a poker game. That was not what he was telling me. Because L.A. Adam Sachs not only showed up with a bottle of rosé, but one called Whispering Angel. I didn’t know if we’d be playing for cash or the right to be our true selves. The Corrupt Wine Writer is a reader-supported publication. Consider sending me wine. Upgrade to paid In the 1970s, before you needed to observe notes of petrol and gooseberry, wine critics often described wines as masculine or feminine. In the 1990s, when I confessed an appreciation for the actress Pamela Anderson, my lovely wife Cassandra described her as a female-female impersonator. Whispering Angel is a female-female impersonator wine. Let me plainly state that Whispering Angel tastes good. It’s a solid expression of rosé from Provence, which is the classic home of rosé. Taste is not why I want to smash every bottle of it. I don’t even have a problem with the winery. Whispering Angel is made by Château d'Esclans, which has 100-year-old Grenache vines. Its original winemaker was Patrick Léon, who worked at Mouton Rothschild. It’s owned by Sacha Lichine, who despite looking like this has an impressive wine background. His dad, after his family fled Russia after the 1917 revolution, became a famous wine writer turned Bordeaux-vineyard owner. Sacha successfully ran his dad’s Château Prieuré-Lichine for years. My problem is mostly the price. Whispering Angel isn’t expensive - it’s around $18 at Costco. You can get a completely interchangeable rosé from Provence for about $15. Yes, that’s a tiny $3 difference. But it’s a 20 percent markup (more if you don’t buy at Costco).² And what you get for that 20 percent is douchebaggery. The marketing campaign is a Second Gilded Age, Miami-scented horror show where wine isn’t a beverage but a brand. Whispering Angel is like Veuve Clicquot, but even tackier. In fact, like Veuve Clicquot, Whispering Angel is also now owned by LVMH. The only occasion this could possibly be celebrating is a third divorce. Yes, of course, pickleball. Ceci n’est pas une butt plug. I will read this right after I finish Mein Kampf. This was not an accident. Lichine went around the world to the douchiest places to sell them Whispering Angel for their menus: Soho House, Chiltern Firehouse, the Château Marmont³. He also called it “Whispering Angel” which is like asking for Home Goods to carry it. “Whispering Angel” is the name your five-year-old trans kid comes up with for herself before you send her back to try again. What Whispering Angel is selling is that IT’S PINK! The winery is so unconcerned with taste that the website lists its aroma as A beautifully pale pink, which is pleasing to the eye and draws one in. That’s right: It smells like pink. Which was enough for a bunch of celebrities to name check it and drink it in public: Adele (who bought it in her first post-lockdown grocery trip and said it “turned me into a barking dog. It did not make me whisper.”) The Beckhams. Lady Gaga. But what really, really makes me mad about Whispering Angel is this guy –L.A. Adam Sachs: Château d'Esclans also makes two other rosés, called The Beach and The Pale. Adam likes them all. L.A. Adam Sachs is an otherwise sophisticated man. He’s the president of Conan O’Brien’s podcast company. He has deep knowledge about restaurants. And yet he indulges in this unnecessary douchebaggery. Here's how he defended himself: Q: How are you first introduced to Whispering Angel? A: I think Molly first bought it after watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills drink it. Q: What do you like about it? A: It’s not too sweet and it is very refreshing with a couple ice cubes. I also like the elegant bottle. Q: Have you compared it to other rosés? A: There are other rosés? Giving wine this little attention is a cop-out. It’s a symptom of unnecessary intimidation. We turn what scares us into camp. And we pay an extra $3 for that. The only reason I forgive him is that he loses the equivalent of four Whispering Angels each poker game. The Corrupt Wine Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid 1 It’s not that Adam is very L.A. It’s that I am so Jewish that I am good friends with two people named Adams Sachs. 2 For $18, you can get something a bit better, such as this, or a more serious rosé, such as this. 3 I like the Chateau Marmont. But I’m a little douchey. You're currently a free subscriber to The Corrupt Wine Writer. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2025 Joel Stein Unsubscribe