San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
The flight of spring: rosés & whites
A crop of crisp and delicious wines debuts
I’d had big plans for spring 2020. A group camping trip. A Memorial Day barbecue in my backyard. Picnics in Golden Gate Park. Air travel to visit my family on the East Coast. Obviously, a little spikylooking virus had other plans.
Most attempts to approximate reallife activities while sheltering in place, I’ve found, are a little depressing. (I still can’t really believe we’re pretending that Zoom birthday parties are “parties.”) But one thing that’s just as good in quarantine as it always was — in fact, maybe it’s better — is a glass of bright, cold, springtimeappropriate wine. This is the time of year when we start to see a lot of releases from the previous vintage; many California wineries are just now sending out their first 2019 whites and rosés into the world.
Sure, I would have preferred to be drinking these crisp rosés and citrusy whites at that backyard barbecue, but drinking them alone in my backyard is better than nothing. The weather in San Francisco has been so beautiful, and opening these bottles has helped me feel like I’m taking advantage of it, even if my social plans were thwarted. Here are some that I’ve been enjoying lately.
Gallica Albariño Calaveras County 2019 ($38, 12.8%): Gallica is the latest act from winemaker Rosemary Cakebread, who was the longtime winemaker for Spottswoode Winery in Napa Valley. She buys this Albariño from the Rorick Heritage Vineyard in Murphys (Calaveras County) and produces an exquisitely refreshing wine from it, showing honeydew melon, underripe peach and lime zest.
Aperture Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County 2019 ($40, 13.6%): The round, rich rendition of Sauvignon Blanc from winemaker Jesse Katz is barrelfermented, smelling like salted honey and banana cream pie.
JolieLaide Pinot Gris
Glen Oaks Vineyard Sonoma County 2019 ($28, 12.8%): Winemaker Scott Schultz’s version is not a typical Pinot Grigio/Gris, rather it’s inspired by the ramato style of skinfermented Pinot Grigios in northern Italy. This lightly bitter wine is rosegold in color, thanks to three days of skin contact, resulting in a profile both floral and earthy, recalling Earl Grey tea.
Lorenza Rosé California 2019 ($22, 11%): This fresh, lively, ultralight rosé is made by motherdaughter team Melinda Kearney and Michele Ouellet from a blend of oldvine Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault. It’s true to the Provencal style: lasersharp, floral, delicate.
Alta Colina Estate Rosé Adelaida Paso Robles 2019 ($28, 13.1%): This Grenache rosé, while still quite light, shows intense, fruity flavors — think ripe, juicy strawberries — in a balanced, refreshing frame.
Lady of the Sunshine Rosé Edna Valley 2019 ($28, 13%): Winemaker Gina Giugni’s rosé is unusual in that it’s a blend of white and red grapes: 30% Sauvignon Blanc, 70% Pinot Noir, both footstomped and in contact with their skins for 24 hours. The grassy, gooseberryforward notes of the Sauvignon Blanc come through on
this very citrusy wine, whose nose recalls greenapple candy and prickly pear.
Birichino Vin Gris California 2019 ($17, 13%): I usually love just about everything from this Santa Cruz winery, and its latest vin gris — a term often used for ultrapale rosés — smells like putting your nose in a bouquet of violets. A blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Vermentino, it’s richly textured and quite tannic for a rosé. The tannins give it a pleasant, orangey bitterness that makes it perfect for what the French would call apéro.
Minus Tide Rosé Feliz Creek Vineyard Mendocino County 2019 ($24, 12.9%): From 112yearold Carignan vines, this lean, aciddriven rosé tastes like a justripe peach, with lots of red berry notes, and smells like lavender and wet stones. It achieves lots of flavor in a very delicate frame.
Sangiacomo Vin Gris Roberts Road Vineyard Petaluma Gap 2019 ($30, 12.5%): This rosé of Pinot Noir is fuller and weightier than the other wines here. It smells tropical, giving off the impression of guava, but turns more savory, with a spicy coppa flavor, on the palate.