Winemaker Notes
This Rose pairs well with duck pate, red Thai curry, charcuterie spread, and Spanish tapas like grilled octopus or boquerones.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Onesta is Jillian Johnson's debut of her own wines; she previously made Cinsault-based reds and rosés for the Phoenix Ranch brand. She is not new, however, to the indelible Bechthold Vineyard and its ancient Cinsault grapes, and her passion and expertise with the site shows gorgeously here. Orange-pink in hue, this beauty shares notes of crushed strawberry that are perfectly in balance with its dry, elegant point-of-view. Sip this one all night long, with food or without.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Produced from grapes grown on the 130-year-old vines of Lodi’s legendary Bechthold Vineyard, this compelling Rosé manages to be friendly and fruity and fairly complex all at once. Its themes of fresh strawberries and stones in the nose are reprised in its surprisingly deep and yet wonderfully lively flavors, and it is as well-balanced as it is insistent in fruit. Its mild edge of finishing tannin affords it serious Rosé structure, and as tasty as it is now, it can be expected to effortlessly hold for several more years.
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.
Positioned between the San Francisco Bay and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Lodi appellation, while relatively far inland, is able to maintain a classic Mediterranean climate featuring warm, sunny days and cool evenings. This is because the appellation is uniquely situated at the end of the Sacramento River Delta, which brings chilly, afternoon “delta breezes” to the area during the growing season.
Lodi is a premier source of 100+ year old ancient Zinfandel vineyards—some dating back as far as 1888! With low yields of small berries, these heritage vines produce complex and bold wines, concentrated in rich and voluptuous, dark fruit.
But Lodi doesn’t just produce Zinfandel; in fact, the appellation produces high quality wines from over 100 different grape varieties. Among them are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc as well as some of California's more rare and unique grapes. Lodi is recognized as an ideal spot for growing Spanish varieties like Albarino and Tempranillo, Portugese varieties—namely Touriga Nacional—as well as many German, Italian and French varieties.
Soil types vary widely among Lodi’s seven sub-appellations (Cosumnes River, Alta Mesa, Deer Creek Hills, Borden Ranch, Jahant, Clements Hills and Mokelumne River). The eastern hills are clay-based and rocky and in the west, along the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers, sandy and mineral-heavy soils support the majority of Lodi’s century-old own-rooted Zinfandel vineyards. Unique to Lodi are pink Rocklin-Jahant loam soils, mainly found in the Jahant sub-appellation.