Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesAngela Osborne makes this wine from a vineyard 33 miles east of Santa Barbara, where the vines grow in sand at an elevation of 3,200 feet. It’s a delicate rosé, from its salmon-rose-gold color to the lasting bright strawberry crunch of its fruit. That fruit sweetness will take on pulled pork, or the ma-la heat of Sichuan minced pork with pickled long beans.
Provençal notes of orange blossom, citrus, and salted herbs emerge from the 2018 Grenache Rosé Of Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard (100% Grenache), and it's medium-bodied, crisp, and balanced on the palate. This is a beautiful, dry, Provençal rosé that has loads to love. Drink it over the coming summer months.
A Tribute To Grace Wine Company is dedicated to crafting authentic expressions of Grenache. All wines are single-vineyard sourced to maintain authenticity, and remain 100% Grenache.
Angela Osborne is a New Zealand born winemaker who moved to California in 2006 with the dream of making Grenache. In the land from which she stems, the climate is too cool to ripen this sun-loving beauty. And so began her search: northern Spain, southern France, southern Australia, California...
Abundant sunshine and entrepreneurial spirit led Angela to the latter, and in 2007 she sourced her first Grenache fruit from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard. Nestled high above the Pacific Ocean and 33 miles inland, this high-desert vineyard provided the perfect balance of heat and light that was sought. Angela named her label after two of her favorite things: her Grandmother Grace and her most beloved attribute. Angela's winemaking intention is to capture this spirit, and stay as close to nature as humanly possible. The trio is completed by the grape itself, which to me encapsulates grace.
With a dry and mild climate cooled significantly by moist ocean fog and breezes, Santa Barbara County is a grape-grower’s dream. Part of the larger Central Coast appellation, Santa Barbara is home to Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley. The conditions here provide an opportunity for nearly effortless production of high-quality cool-climate wines. This is also the site of the 2004 film Sideways, which caused Pinot Noir’s popularity to skyrocket and brought new acclaim to the region.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of Santa Barbara, producing wines marked by racy acidity. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc and savory Syrah are also important. The region is home to many young and enthusiastic winemakers eager to experiment with less common varieties including Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Trousseau Gris, Gamay and Cabernet Franc, making it an exciting area to watch.
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.
