TASTING RESULTS | rosé
RHÔNE VARIETIES CONTINUE THEIR RISE AMONG NORTHWEST ROSÉ Story by Eric Degerman | Photography by Jennifer King t’s probably a misnomer to refer to rosé’s recent rise as a renaissance considering there wasn’t huge interest in that style of wine among Americans — unless White Zinfandel counts as something other than “California Kool-Aid.” However, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the U.S. Wine Industry 2021 report, “The bloom is officially off the rosé this year, with a growth rate slightly below zero.” How much of that can be chalked up to side effects of the pandemic? After all, rosé consumption grew 2.8% in 2019 to 18.4 million cases, according to research by M. Shanken Communications Inc., but the majority of that growth was driven by folks reaching for wines from Provence. Domestic rosé consumption increased just 0.1% to 15 million cases in 2019. And yet, Americans continue to seek for
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lighter-styled beverages, so rosé is another way for vintners to engage consumers. Rosé producers aren’t targeting the traditional benchmark level of ripeness at 24 percent sugar — or Brix — for most red table wines. Cabernet Sauvignon in Washington state often is cropped at two to three tons per acre to attain 24 Brix. Prized vineyards of Pinot Noir in Oregon’s Willamette Valley sometimes are constricted to eke out less than two tons of wine grapes per acre. Those vines require more labor and management, which explains why those Northwest wines routinely are priced at $40 to $80 per bottle. It is easy to see why folks walk out of Barnard Griffin’s tasting rooms in Richland and Vancouver USA with cases of Rob Griffin’s storied Sangiovese rosé. “In a good year, we can crop Sangiovese to 10 tons an acre, which is almost embarrassing to admit,” Griffin said. “But that gives the
wine the crisp acidity, and it still has the fruit. Of course, that’s dependent upon the year. A more average vintage would be seven to eight tons per acre.” As a result, the science inside the grapes Griffin hopes to harvest for rosé amounts to a sugar level of 21 Brix, a pH level of no more than 3.4, total acidity of 7 grams per liter, a food-friendly alcohol in the range of 12.5 to 13 percent, and residual sugar less than 0.3 percent — essentially bone-dry. In the latest Wine Press Northwest look at rosé, of the 23 examples rated as “Outstanding!” and above, only six checked in with a residual sugar level of more than 5 grams per liter (0.5%). Overall, more than half of the tastiest — 13 — involved Syrah or other Rhône varieties, including Grenache. So yes, rosé is another delicious use of Syrah. Five of the best were Pinot Noir, which
