Vin Rose

2010 Vin Rosé PICAZO Vineyards

There are several ways of making Rosé in modern winemaking. Originally I thought Rosé was a mistake by someone who added a little red wine to white. This might be true but I think it is more likely that people pressed red grapes and made wine methodically in a white wine style. There are struggling vineyards of late ripening reds that will never quite make enough color and intensity to make a solid red wine that become Rosé. Then there are artisans that target excellent quality fruit and strive to make the best Rosé they can by either pressing off the red grapes or using Saignée as the technique for making the wine blush.

A well made Rosé is becoming more popular as people are learning more and more about wine styles. The classic slightly sweet wines are still very popular of course but the more elegant dry wines are now sought after. These wines pair well with foods and can be enjoyed on their own as an apertif.

We chose the method that is the gentlest way of extracting the juice. We de-stemmed our Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes into barrels and then bled off (Saignée) some of the juice to capture the “free run” that is our Vin Rosé. We cold settled the juice for 24 hours and then racked the juice to another barrel. We performed sensory and wet chemistry analysis, added yeast and the fermentation was to begin. We cold fermented the juice which extends the fermentation and keeps the flavors from volatizing into the atmosphere. Fermentation lasted 4 weeks and then we racked the wine and topped off the barrel making a blend of 50% Merlot – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon.