2010 DIVISION ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR

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Vintage Box Score

Harvest Date: 10/21/2010 - 10/27/2010

Sugar at Harvest: 21.0 - 21.8 degrees brix

Varietal: Pinot Noir Clones 115, 114 & Pommard

Production: 56 Cases

Final pH: 3.35

Final Alcohol: 12.1% by vol

Residual Sugar: < 0.3% by weight

Winemaking Notes: 70% foot pressed & 30% saignée

Fermentation & Aging: 60% stainless steel & 40% neutral French oak barrels

The 2010 Rosé out for a sunny summer day, the perfect time to enjoy!

The Division Rosé of Pinot Noir is designed to be an expression in the style of Loire Valley rosés made most commonly from Gamay, Pinot Noir, Grolleau or Cabernet Franc, in order from lightest to fullest in body and color. We chose Pinot Noir for a great reason; it was given to us in exchange for some winemaking assistance (thank you Lonnie Krawl!). Also, Pinot Noir is the most abundant varietal of those aforementioned in Oregon and a very suitable grape to make a dry rosé. The last time we made Rosé was while in France and we used Gamay, which was well loved by us and others and a likely participant in the future, but here are our thoughts on the 2010 Rosé of Pinot Noir.

We started with approximately .5 tons of Clone 115 Pinot Noir that was being held in a grated macrobin awaiting a life destined to traditional red Pinot Noir. As we only had a single oak barrel left, which was not enough for the entire quantity that this would yield, Tom had the idea of putting his love of rosé into action. From there, the grapes were foot pressed directly and settled for a few days. Along with some additional recovered juice via a saignée (bleed) of our other Pinot Noir, we fermented in our last oak barrel (5 yr old neutral barrel) and two stainless steel drum barrels. After fermentation, the rosé lived and aged for a few months outside, which essentially cold stabilized the wine, before being bottled on April 1, 2011.

We were fortunate to acheive exactly what we were striving for, a dry, fruity, relatively high acid and pale salmon colored Loire style rosé that has a pleasantly smooth texture. The wine is aromatically reminiscent of early summer peaches, strawberries and rose petals. Our take on taste is an initial minerality, followed by light cantaloupe melon and again peach and some lime. The Division Rosé of Pinot Noir is an excellent food wine and has been enjoyed numerous times by us with prosciutto and other summertime charcuterie, grilled chicken and roasted summer squash and zucchini.

If you are interested in the Division Rosé of Pinot Noir, it can be found at the linked Oregon retail shops & restaurants or contact us direct to have it shipped.

Please check out our first review of this year's rosé from Katherine Cole, wine writer for the Oregonian and MIX magazine.

Emergency quality control check during rosé bottling.	A small amount of remaining CO2 giving the cloudy appearance during bottling.