Karen Birmingham Rose Lodi 2016

Happy Spring! I was driving by the Sangiovese vineyard where my Rosé grapes come from and there they were…..baby grapes!!!

It’s been a long winter here in Lodi, and we’ve been fortunate to finally have a few nice spring days. Perfect timing for the release of my 2016 Rosé!

The grape variety Sangiovese makes a wonderful Rosé with bright fruit flavors and perfect acidity at a lower Brix (sugar content). As a result, this wine has a refreshingly low 12% alcohol, which makes it easy to enjoy glass #2!

Winemaking can be a bit opportunistic, and this year I had a Zinfandel vineyard that tasted like freshly picked raspberries arrive at the winery at the same time as this Sangiovese ....so I could not resist and I drained a small percent of this Zinfandel juice into the Rose for “co-fermentation” (when two or more grape varieties are fermented together). I also added some Viognier juice to the blend, just like in 2015, because the timing was also perfect and I love the aromatics and mouthfeel the Viognier adds to the Rosé.

I fermented this wine cool to retain the fresh fruit flavors with a special yeast selected for Rosé. The finished wine has wild strawberry aromas, hints of orange peel and yes…freshly picked raspberries. This wine is off-dry with 0.5% residual sugar - it’s definitely not sweet, but it’s not bone dry either. Those of you who like sweet wines will think it’s dry. For reference, a sweet Muscat or White Zinfandel can have up to 3 or 4% residual sugar…now that’s sweet.
I hope you all enjoy one of my favorites.

Cheers!! Karen

Delicious Rose wine! Loved it!

A little bitter

I'm not a fan of the rose much; I drink it with my mom or daughters and they prefer it. I like it best when dry and this was a little too sweet for me.

Another lovely Rose from Karen Birmingham! The wine is a deep pink in my glass. The nose contains lots of strawberry. Tasting confirms strawberries are on the palate. There is ever the slightest touch of minerality and a perfect acidity. While this is a drier Rose, I think that the fruit forward palate will allow sweet wine drinkers to enjoy this Rose as well. This is a perfect spring/summer wine and I look forward to ordering Karen's Rose each year. Thank you for making this awesome wine for the Angels! I look forward to tasting your future wine creations!

A little more sweet than I would like, but still a nice refreshing rose.

Fine wine, not my style for a rose. Was lacking acidity. Very full - bodied as a result. Very fruity, strawberry and cherry.

My favorite

Very balance rosé. One of my favorites.