We started making our style of Rosé as a salvage experiment in 2000. We had some Cabernet Sauvignon vines that were defoliated by an early frost. The grapes were quite underripe and had green vegetal aromas.
After a couple of weeks of sunny September weather, the aromas changed to fruity, and the dehydration brought the sugar level up to workable. The acidity was higher than we prefer for red wines, but in the range for whites.
We had a slow week in the harvest schedule, so Antonio and Paul picked the 3,000 lbs to try as a Rosé. Paul put the juice into some older barrels with the understanding that it was a salvage attempt; we could dump it if it wasn’t yummy. A Rosé wasn’t in the business plan. It turned out quite yummy, definitely worthy of our label.
Well, we made that style for over 20 years and thousands of cases. Evolving from a simple Cabernet Sauvignon to a complex blend with Sangiovese as the base.
We haven’t made any of the last few vintages. The end is nigh. We are now sold out of our Rosé!
Our inventory of other wines is much larger than we would like. Going from 150 tasting rooms in 2005 to 1,400 in 2025 has definitely slowed traffic into our door and bottles out. It may be a couple of years before we deplete the next wine.
We will be around longer!
