Winemaker Notes
High in acid, color, and tannin, Carignane requires a deft touch in the cellar to bring out its best qualities. Back when they made rosé from the Valdiguié, they referred to their process as “two-beer” rosé—the grapes were left on the skins for about an hour, long enough to enjoy two beers at one’s leisure. With the intensity of color from Carignane, it’s now more of a “shotgun-a-beer” rosé—they begin pressing the grapes as soon as they enter the press, and that’s all that’s required to give the wine its beautiful color.
Blend: 100% Carignane
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.