A winery in the Hamptons sells drive-thru rosé that's the perfect socially distanced way to stock up

The drive-thru is located at the Wölffer Estate Wine Stand in Sagaponack, New York.Sophie-Claire Hoeller

• Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, New York, introduced its drive-thru in 2017 to allow its wealthy clientele to stock up on wine from their cars.
• Drive-thru rosé might be the most Hamptons thing I've ever heard, but amid a global pandemic, it's actually practical.
• I recently checked it out and bought a few bottles of wine at the hands-free drive-thru to take home.
• I thought it was fun, but once is probably enough unless you live nearby.

The drive-thru can be found at the Wölffer Estate Wine Stand in Sagaponack, New York. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Wine Stand is in Sagaponack, New York.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

A bright-pink sign on the side of the road attracts passersby who want to pick up some rosé to enjoy later at home.

The drive-thru was recently rebranded as "hands-free."      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

Once you turn into the lot, a masked employee directs you to the drive-thru. Cones also mark the way, though they were a little hard to follow.

All the signs were appropriately pink.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

Signs ask customers to stay inside the car.

There were also clothes and souvenirs for sale.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

The first stop is a chalkboard menu that lists all the different wines, ciders, snacks, and tchotchkes, from glasses to magnets, that are for sale.

The Estate Rosé is the most affordable alcoholic beverage, at $18 a bottle.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

Next, there's a cute pink cart filled with the different bottles you can buy.

Wölffer also makes gin and cider.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

Wölffer Estate is largely credited with making rosé popular in the US, having made its first batch in 1992, as a 2017 Business Insider article notes.

The vineyards are right next to the drive-thru.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

Source: Business Insider

After deciding on our purchases, my husband and I placed our order with a very knowledgeable (and masked) lady, who asked us whether we wanted the bottles cold or not.

Payment was contactless.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

When we said cold, she asked how long it would be until the bottles would be placed in a fridge, and said we should get them warm; she explained that cold wine shouldn't heat up before it gets chilled again, as the change of temperature can ruin the wine.

Bottles could be purchased chilled or at room temperature.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

We then paid using a contactless payment system. While we were able to tap our card to pay, we did have to use our fingers to add a tip and sign.

He used hand sanitizer after this.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

Finally, we were handed a bag of wine bottles (which they also offered to put into the trunk for us) and were on our merry way.

Our three bottles were handed to us in a paper bag.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

While this is a super convenient — and safe — way to get your booze during the pandemic, unless you live nearby and this is on your way home, visiting the drive-thru once is probably enough.

It's great if you want to avoid crowds of people.      Sophie-Claire Hoeller

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• This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).