2010 Estate Rosé

Foppiano Vineyards sits on a 160-acre estate in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, a highly acclaimed wine region in Northern California. The Foppiano family has been producing world class fruit on this land since its purchase in 1896 and now grows grape varieties that thrive in this temperate coastal region:Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Fifth generation Paul Foppiano manages the vineyards with a great respect for the land by limiting pesticide use and providing the highest level of care and maintenance.

Our grapes were harvested at night to ensure cool temperatures and to minimize oxidation of the fruit. Winemaker Natalie West created this rosé’s gorgeous pale pink color using the gentle “saignée” method. First, she de-stemmed the grapes and allowed them to sit in tank for 12 hours at 45 degrees to extract some color. After removing the skins and seeds, she cold-fermented the juice, then transferred the wine to neutral French oak barrels, where it aged for six months until bottling.

As with our other wines, the fruit for this rosé was harvested at night to ensure cool temperatures when delivered to the winery. On arrival, the fruit was de-stemmed and put in tanks and left to stand for 12 hours at 45 degrees. After soaking for 12 hours, juice was pulled off the bottom and held in a separate tank, where it was cold fermented off the skins and seeds. This method of making rosé is called "saignée", which comes from the Latin root “to bleed”. In essence we are “bleeding” the juice off the skins. Once fermentation was complete, the wine was racked to neutral French oak barrels where it was aged for six months.

180 cases