Rosé

  • A Year Filled With Change

    April 14, 2023 16:48

    A Year Filled With Change

    April is Down to Earth Month, and as a winery committed to sustainability, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our efforts to protect the environment. Our winery has undergone some major changes this year, including the renovation of our hospitality grounds and refreshed our tasting room with a new look. We've created a warm and inviting atmosphere for our guests to relax and enjoy our wines.

     

    But that's not all! We're thrilled to announce that we're continuing to introduce our new labels, starting with our 2022 Giovanni & Giulia Sauvignon Blanc and soon our 2022 Rosé. These new labels are sleek, modern, and embody the essence of our winery, embracing our Italian heritage.

     

    And now, onto the big news. Starting with the release of our 2021 cork-finished red wines, we'll no longer be using capsules on our wine bottles. We've realized that these have a significant impact on the environment. Most capsules are not biodegradable and end up in landfills where they can take hundreds of years to decompose.

     

    We're taking a stand for sustainability and taking small steps like eliminating capsules to make a big impact on the environment. Our bottles will still be sealed with high-quality corks to maintain the freshness and flavor of our wines. By doing so, we'll be reducing our carbon footprint and investing more in our cork supply chain to ensure that our corks are of the highest quality.

     

    Small steps like these can help to preserve the natural beauty of our region for generations to come. Come on over and see our changes for yourself, and let's celebrate Down to Earth Month together! Join us in our efforts as we find ways to take care of Mother Earth.

    Tags: Dry Creek Valley, Tasting Room, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Winemaking
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  • Rosé Has Its' Day!

    June 10, 2022 14:51

    Rosé Has Its' Day!

    How fitting to celebrate Rosé with its’ own national holiday!

    The history of Rosé is a long one-and has been overshadowed at times by the Red and White wines over the last 100 years. But watch out Cabernet and Chardonnay- Rosé has a corner on the market! Looking back to the origins of wine it appears that many of the red wines made then were the color of some of the Rosés today. I imagine those early winemakers chose this style because of the early winemaking equipment (goat skins, amphorae) didn’t allow for cold soak fermentations and other modern techniques.  It is also a versatile wine, easy to drink soon after fermentation, not too heavy, not too light. Went well with the catch of the day or the leg of roast beast. No aging in goat skins required.

    This wine has been part of our story nearly 70 of our 95 years! We have been making Rosé since the early 1950s when it first appeared as Vin Rosé. A couple of years later, since it was made from Zinfandel, Jim and John Pedroncelli changed the name to Zinfandel Rosé, naturally identifying the grape from which the wine was made. Popularity of our Rosé reigned for a few decades until two rosé roads diverged and we made both a Zinfandel Rosé and a White Zinfandel. Popularity of the lighter and sweeter styled rosé (and yes Virginia it is a Rosé ) spanned the vintages of 1984 through 2000. All along we had a small but mighty base of fans for the OG Rosé. By 2005 the popularity of Rosé in general would soar and we were back in business. We haven’t looked back.

    Winemaker Monteserrat Reeece will tell you it is the most difficult wine to make out of all of our wines. The style has changed from my uncle John’s time however. In those early vintages it was made in a saignee method-where the winemaker draws off the juice from fully ripened Zinfandel and separates it into its’ own tank after the juice has settled on the skins for a bit. The color was a deep magenta with full flavor and a bit higher alcohol than the current release. The style now is to pick intentionally for Rosé which means an earlier time-about two weeks ahead of when we would pick for red Zinfandel. By doing this the wine has lower alcohol, is lighter in color and brings crisp acidity for balance with the fruit. It also captures the rose petal/watermelon/spicy goodness of the high aromas and notes of Zinfandel in this form.

    Finally let’s talk food. Well first there are a couple of wine-based cocktails I’d like to recommend: our Negroncelli and Strawberry Basil Zingria. Perfect for summer sipping. Now for the food. A few of my favorite things are Grilled Salmon, Seafood Paella (our winemaker’s recipe!), Orzo Pasta Salad, Watermelon Salad, and more-all found on this link to our recipes that are specially selected to pair well with our Signature Selection Rosé. So get ready for summer, order up and sit back. Enjoy our 68th vintage of our Rosé! It will be what's in my Dino this weekend.

    Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Rosé
    Categories: Note from Home
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  • Hip Hip Rosé!

    June 22, 2021 11:20

    Hip Hip Rosé!
    I picked up a t-shirt a few years ago and, because it had Hip Hip Rosé screened on it, was a natural choice. Since we have been making Rosé for 67 years I'll wear it as we celebrate National Rosé Day on the 12th and again on International Rosé Day on June 25th. Twice in one month-and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share our 7 decade history of this wine. 

    1950s Rose label 2It goes back to the early 1950s actually when my uncle John was starting out as winemaker. We had made Zinfandel for many years as a red wine and blend. Working with his father he did what comes naturally. He decided making it out of Zinfandel was a natural extension of our estate fruit. At first it was known as Vin Rosé but soon became known as Zinfandel Rosé honoring the grape. My dad Jim remembers the first vintage of Zin Rosé because he worked the 1954 harvest before leaving to join the Army. They released it in 1955 and the rest is Rosé-story.

    I remember running across some paperwork about production of our varieties in the early 1970s and saw that we made 10,000 cases! You do have to remember we were one of a handful of wineries during this time-the winery renaissance of the 1980s was just around the corner. The style of our Rosé was also sweeter-which matched well with what people wanted out of this type in those days.

    At one point our rosé style diverged and we made both a Zinfandel Rosé and a White Zinfandel. Popularity of the lighter and sweeter styled rosé spanned the vintages of 1984 through 2000. All along we had a small but mighty base of fans for the OG Rosé. Taste changed and by 2005 the popularity of Rosé in general would soar and we were back in business. We haven’t looked back.

    If you talk to winemaker Montse she’ll tell you it is the most challenging wine to make out of all of our wines-and we make 21 in total. The style has changed from John’s time however. In those early vintages it was made in the saignee method-where the winemaker draws off the juice from fully ripened Zinfandel and separates it into its’ own tank. The color was a deep salmon red, full bodied, full flavored and a bit higher alcohol than the current release. 

    Montse now seeks to pick early, also known as an intentional rosé. 2019 Rose Fermenting 3This means harvesting about two weeks ahead of when we would pick for red Zinfandel. By doing this the wine has lower alcohol, is lighter in color and brings crisp acidity for balance with the fruit. Once the grapes are brought in, the skins are separated to achieve a paler shade of rosé. The beauty of this photo  shows the fermenting pink stuff perfectly. Montse records each vintage this way.

    It is a family favorite when we gather and is almost always the answer when I am wondering what to pair with dinner. Speaking of pairings, this wine is made for your glass, a meal or just an afternoon on the deck. My dad came up with the Zin Cooler years ago-adding a touch of orange-flavored mineral water. Later on we developed a few cocktail recipes including the Negroncelli. 

    Tweet food crab cakesRosé and food-the match made in heaven. There is a whole world of possibilities. Just off the top I can think of oysters, burgers, prosciutto wrapped melon, roasted chicken, Thanksgiving dinner (goes with everything except the pumpkin pie), Orzo Pasta Salad, Watermelon Salad or click here for these and more recipes! 

     

    Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Rosé
    Categories: Note from Home
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  • Follow the Vineyard: Vintage 2020

    September 2, 2020 16:18

    Follow the Vineyard: Vintage 2020

    Our Sauvignon Blanc harvest kicked things off for us on August 24-seen above are the grapes as they arrived at the crushpad. Vintage 2020 begins!

    This post is a bit of a mix between talking to Mitch about following the vineyards on their road to harvest along with an update on our first week of harvest all the while with the Walbridge fire as background. The vineyards are ripe and ready to pick, the harvest waits for no one.

    August brought some challenges for sure. The dog days of summer heat ripened vineyards a bit faster than previously estimated. The early varieties like our Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley were ready to pick, moved along after a relatively cool and uneventful July. The first day of harvest brought fruit in on time for a normal beginning of the vintage. To give you a reference point, the average first day of harvest over the last 10 years fell between the third and fourth week of August. I managed to catch up with Mitch, as I mentioned, to check in on August 21st, right before the big day. He was taking bunch samples of the Bushnell Vineyard Zinfandel for our Rosé. It was a beautiful warm day in Dry Creek Valley while I talked to Mitch, he in the vineyard and me from a smokey parking lot in Soledad California-where I stopped to take notes along my way home from taking care of my grandson Galen. 

    Mitch shared the following: "The vineyards are holding up just fine through the heat. The vines didn't shut down because the vineyard crew made sure the vineyards were given a drink of water now and then through controlled drip irrigation. There was some evidence of shriveling in the Zinfandel bunches but overall not too much was lost. We'll move from picking Sauvignon Blanc early in the week to the Rosé and Pinot Noir. We'll finish the week by beginning to pick our Zinfandel and Merlot blocks. All the work we have been doing through the summer like dropping fruit where needed, getting water to where it was needed, readying equipment and doing the final bottling in order to make room in the cellar for the new vintage all came together right on time."

    He continued, addressing the smoke from the Walbridge fire. Editor's note: This fire began on August 17 due west of the winery and vineyards by several miles. As of September 1st it was under 74% containment and no longer was a threat to Dry Creek Valley. Mitch talked about the change in the weather with the arrival of the cooling marine layer which helped the fire fighters to contain the fire as well as bringing development to the grapes-acids and sugars balance out much better with warm days and cool nights. The smoke itself was to the west actually blowing south into the Bay Area and remained west and high above the valley floor. We'll see how things go as the vineyards are tested and we take things on a case by case basis. One other challenge to this year's harvest is COVID-and we have instituted and followed the guidelines set forth by the state and county when it comes to the safety of our vineyard crew. While it will slow things down we'll still get the grapes to the crushpad."

    There you have it, Vintage 2020 has begun. The excitement of our 93rd vintage has been tempered somewhat but we are hopeful as we look forward to the last load of grapes to come in and call it a year-what a year it has been.

    Tags: Pedroncelli, Pandemic, COVID19, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Bushnell Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé
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