Vinum Cellars Rose - Wine Blog Wednesday
Vinum Cellars, Rose 2004 ($12) - Napa Valley Pink Table Wine. Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon. From this irreverent winemaker we are told that "it's okay!" I assume that means that it is OK to drink Pink. A portion of the profits go to a national Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The irreverence of the winery must come from one of the winemaker's stint at Bonny Doon. Here is the official version:
Vinum Cellars is a collaboration of winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris Condos, who first became friends while they were students at UC Davis. They share a long standing passion for Chenin Blanc and fondness for the more obscure grape varieties. After graduation, Chris went to work for Pine Ridge as Enologist, and Richard went to Bonny Doon as their distiller. Shortly after, their friendship was solidified over Chenin Blanc with the creation of their first wine "Pointe Blanc". Currently the Vinum Cellars team is working with over 14 grape varieties from El Dorado and San Benito Counties to Napa Valley.
I couldn't find a lot on production notes, but there is a short blurb on the vineyard:
Jim Frediani is a 3rd generation Italian grower and has probably forgotten more about growing grapes then most people know. Our cabernet comes from dry-farmed, old vines which express flavorful red fruit and powerful tannins. To make the red wine super concentrated, we remove some of the pink juice in the early stages after crushing. We then ferment this portion cold (like white wine) to make our groovy Rosé - It’s Okay!
I am always excited to try new varietals of Rose, so I opened a chilled bottle and then let it warm in the glass. I got very dry fruit flavors with a hint of watermelon and strawberry. Tannins are present and it has a good mouth feel. Lots of flavor here with a smooth medium finish. Thirst quenching and substantial. Very good. I would order more and will try the other Vinum wines very soon.
By sheer happenstance, I will be conducting a blind tasting of eight Rose's next Tuesday. The intent is to find eight different varietals. I will report on the findings later. I guess May is a perfect month to cover Rose's!
Vinum Cellars is a collaboration of winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris Condos, who first became friends while they were students at UC Davis. They share a long standing passion for Chenin Blanc and fondness for the more obscure grape varieties. After graduation, Chris went to work for Pine Ridge as Enologist, and Richard went to Bonny Doon as their distiller. Shortly after, their friendship was solidified over Chenin Blanc with the creation of their first wine "Pointe Blanc". Currently the Vinum Cellars team is working with over 14 grape varieties from El Dorado and San Benito Counties to Napa Valley.
I couldn't find a lot on production notes, but there is a short blurb on the vineyard:
Jim Frediani is a 3rd generation Italian grower and has probably forgotten more about growing grapes then most people know. Our cabernet comes from dry-farmed, old vines which express flavorful red fruit and powerful tannins. To make the red wine super concentrated, we remove some of the pink juice in the early stages after crushing. We then ferment this portion cold (like white wine) to make our groovy Rosé - It’s Okay!
I am always excited to try new varietals of Rose, so I opened a chilled bottle and then let it warm in the glass. I got very dry fruit flavors with a hint of watermelon and strawberry. Tannins are present and it has a good mouth feel. Lots of flavor here with a smooth medium finish. Thirst quenching and substantial. Very good. I would order more and will try the other Vinum wines very soon.
By sheer happenstance, I will be conducting a blind tasting of eight Rose's next Tuesday. The intent is to find eight different varietals. I will report on the findings later. I guess May is a perfect month to cover Rose's!
posted by jens at cincinnati wine at 11:53 AM
2 Comments:
A friend and I met some of the people from Vinum at the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience a few years back. (One of them was Chris or Richard, but I forget which.) Anyway, we might have been the only people who expressed an interest in their rose, which turned out to be quite good. So Chris/Richard gave me a bottle of it.
thanks for your entry. look forward to reading more about your blind rose tasting soon.
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