Locations by Dave Phinney F-5 Rose
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To make the best possible wine from a given Location. When it comes down to it, we all know that great wine starts in the vineyard, so why not seek out the best vineyards regardless of appellation, varietal, or vintage? Dave Phinney created this portfolio to explore the possibility of what could happen when all of the stereotypical constraints and regional rules were pushed aside, allowing him to focus on one task: making great wine. The label concept was born when Dave was in France and a taxi pulled up with the very distinctive “F” sticker on their license plate. It sent his mind racing with the possibilities… recalling his experiences getting to know vineyards and their caretakers all over, and leaving him excited to expand this network to include even more Locations. Each label release is carefully crafted by Dave and partners around the world, offering a glimpse into his perception and experiences of the Locations he’s explored… so far.
Dave Phinney first became interested in wine after he took a friend up on an offer in 1995 to go to Florence, Italy for a semester abroad. During that time, he was introduced to wine and found himself wanting to learn more. Eventually, he took a job at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1997 as a temporary harvest worker. Deciding that if he was going to work this hard, it would have to be for himself, so in 1998 he founded his first wine brand (Orin Swift) with two tons of zinfandel and not much else. He spent the next decade developing internationally renowned brands. His ambition with Locations has led him around the world, allowing him to pursue his winemaking goal of achieving complexity through geographic diversity.
In the world of wine there are compelling Locations that exist where soil, climate and vines interact to produce grapes that uniquely express their Location through wine. These Locations exist individually within appellations, but are seldom combined across appellations during blending due to laws and restrictions that make it near impossible to express true winemaking freedom.
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.
French wine is nearly synonymous with fine wine and all things epicurean, France has a culture of wine production and consumption that is deeply rooted in tradition. Many of the world’s most beloved grape varieties originated here, as did the concept of “terroir”—soil type, elevation, slope and mesoclimate combine to produce resulting wines that convey a sense of place. Accordingly, most French wine is labeled by geographical location, rather than grape variety. So a general understaning of which grapes correspond to which regions can be helpful in navigating all of the types of French wine. Some of the greatest wine regions in the world are here, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Champagne, but each part of the country has its own specialties and strengths.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the king and queen of Burgundy, producing elegant French red and white wines with great acidity, the finest examples of which can age for decades. The same two grapes, along with Pinot Meunier, are used to make Champagne.
Of comparable renown is Bordeaux, focused on bold, structured red blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc including sometimes a small amount of Petit Verdot or Malbec. The primary white varieties of Bordeaux are Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
The northern Rhône Valley is responsible for single-varietal Syrah, while the south specializes in Grenache blends; Rhône's main white variety is Viognier.
Most of these grape varieties are planted throughout the country and beyond, extending their influence into other parts of Europe and New World appellations.