August Wine Club

2012 Collestefano Rosato "Rosa di Elena"

ColleStefano is situated in a hilly belt in the hinterland of the Marches, 420 meters above sea-level. This narrow land is watered by the Esino river and bound on the east and west by the mountain range of the Appennini Umbro-Marchigiani. Not affected by the mitigating influence of the Adriatic Sea, the region is characterized by a cool, dry climate with a dramatic day/night temperature range. Fabio Marchionni from Colle Stefano said of his rosé: "A neighbor offered to rent me his vineyard, planted with 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, already being farmed organically. I couldn't refuse, great position, very steep slope (almost too steep!), the soil rocky and rich in limestone. The vineyard is surrounded by 50 acres of woods. Every time I go there to work with my tractor there's a crow that keeps me company; he sits on a stake and waits for the tractor to turn over something interesting." The wine is macerated with the skins for 8 hours, then fermented low temperature in all stainless steel with no malo lactic fermentation. This is a wine you're going to want pair with friends and a porch this summer. Maybe enjoy some crudité with aioli or a nice fresh chevre with meyer lemon zest, or a taco with this wine: don't think too hard about it.

2014 Azul y Garanza- Viura

Azul y Garanza is located next to the lunar landscaped Natural Park of the Bardenas Reales of Navarra, the largest desert in Europe. Due to irregular and almost nonexistent rainfall, vineyard yields are naturally low creating a wine that, while refreshing, is textural enough to stand up to something a little fattier. Maybe a nice avocado toast or some fatty salmon. Winemakers Dani and Maria are commited to organic viticulture and traditional winemaking. Wines are fermented in concrete and stainless steel creating true representations of the grapes and terroir.

Skylark- Pinot Blanc

This is the tenth vintage from Skylark made with Bernie Orsi’s Pinot Blanc outside Hopland in Mendocino. The 2014 is totally reflective of the vintage: plenty of fruit and texture, full of life, juicy, age-worthy and precocious. The methodology stayed the same: whole-cluster pressed, racked into Mueller stainless steel barrels, stirred once with no malo and no manipulation. Classic Orsi Vineyard Pinot Blanc aromatics of zesty green apple, roasted lemon and citrus, then complicated by pear blossom, peach and key lime pie. The palate shows the beautiful juxtaposition between the fleshiness of the vintage and the natural framing acidity. Juicy and ripe, yet with just the right amount of tanginess to make that second sip unavoidable. Crack open some oysters or grill a nice piece of white fish: this is a wine for the summer.

Love Rose- Broc Cellars

This is the inaugural vintage of the Love Rosé. Most of the grapes for this are sourced from Gibson Ranch in Mendocino. In the last of the remaining original block that’s over 100 years old. The vineyard is now farmed by Bilbro family of Marietta fame. They keep some of the grapes for themselves, and sell a small portion to a few lucky California winemakers. It’s an honor to work with some of this California viticultural history.

The grapes were harvested early again this year, destemmed and left on the skins briefly (2-3 hours) to try to extract just the slightest amount of color. Then gently pressed into a larger stainless steel tank overnight, and racked to older 600 and 1200L foudre to ferment. Once finished fermenting, barrels were topped and bottled the following spring. Broc Cellars wines are all done by spontaneous fermentation, meaning no inoculated yeast or bacteria. We do not add any powdered tannins/enzymes to our wines. A minimal dose of SO2 is added 4 weeks before bottling. The 2014 Love Rose is unfined and lightly filtered. This wine is watermelon, peach pit, and saline in a glass. Pair it with a watermelon and cucumber salad on a summer day :)

BLEND: 70% Grenache Gris/20% Zinfandel/10% Syrah ALC: 13% alcohol TOTAL PRODUCTION: 400 cases