Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with smoked trout and watercress sandwiches, steamed mussel tapas with matchstick serrano ham and almond slivers.
Blend: 71% Grenache Noir, 18% Cinsaut, 6% Counoise, 5%Mourvedre
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This Rhône varietal-based, pink lemonade-colored rosé starts with warm watermelon and sharp lime zest on the fresh, bright nose. The 71% Grenache, 18% Cinsault, 6% Counoise, 5% Mourvedre blend offers light cherry flavors, some honey and a bit of bubblegum, with nice grip and racy acidity taking it to the finish line.
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Wine & Spirits
Mostly grenache with some cinsaut, counoise and mourvedre, this comes from a West Side vineyard with calcareous soil at around 1,800 feet - saignee juice fermented in a mix of stainless steel and neutral oak. It’s a bold and satisfying wine, lasting on warm tones of peach and honeysuckle while remaining dry. Its flavor intensity calls for something rich, like lamb.
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.
Responsible for the vast majority of American wine production, if California were a country, it would be the world’s fourth largest wine-producing nation. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates allow for an incredible range of red wine styles, and unlike tradition-bound Europe, experimentation is more than welcome here. California wineries range from tiny, family-owned boutiques to massive corporations, and price and production are equally varied. Plenty of inexpensive bulk wine is made in the Central Valley area, while Napa Valley is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious and expensive “cult” wines.
Each American Viticultural Area (AVA) and sub-AVA of has its own distinct personality, allowing California to produce red wine of every fashion: from bone dry to unctuously sweet, still to sparkling, light and fresh to rich and full-bodied. In the Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate vineyard acreage. Sonoma County is best known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé and Zinfandel. The Central Coast has carved out a niche with Rhône Blends based on Grenache and Syrah, while Mendocino has found success with cool climate varieties such as Pinot noir, Riesling and Gewürztraminer. With all the diversity that California wine has to offer, any wine lover will find something to get excited about here.