Steven Canter refuses to reduce rosé to a sound bite.
Canter is the winemaker behind our wine of the week winner — the Quivira, 2009 Wine Creek Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Grenache Rosé, 13.8 percent alcohol, $15.
Canter went to last week’s Rosé Avengers & Producers Tasting in San Francisco and found a wide range of styles.
“The truth is rosé is more complicated than the sound bites we try to reduce it to,” he said. “Rosé is not a varietal and it’s technically not a style.”
Rosé is made from “bleeding off” or extracting juice from other varietals such as pinot noir, Grenache or Mourvedre.
Canter said when producing his rosé, he’s dogmatic about using Grenache that is dedicated to it because the grapes need to be picked earlier for the best acidity. He noted that he doesn’t have a specific house style but rather waits to see what evolves. That said, he does pick grapes when they have good acid and ferments in stainless steel to keep the freshness.
“The best wines are the ones we haven’t had to tinker with in the cellar,” he said.
While Canter acknowledges that many rosés are now coming on the market, he objects to the mindset of distributors who consider “rosé season” roughly between Memorial Day through Labor Day.
“The mental image is one of sitting on the back porch with a piece of cheese, bread and a bowl of olives. That is the ideal setting for a rosé,” he said, “.
.
. but this is silly because I love drinking rosé in the fall. I also like it in the springtime.”
Canter said a rosé is an anomaly. “People will sometimes say ‘This is a serious rosé, and a rosé can be good. .
.
. Yet while it’s not frivolous or simple, it inherently has a carefree nature to it.”
Staff writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or at peg. melnik@pressdemocrat.com.
<p>Steven Canter refuses to reduce rosé to a sound bite.</p><p>Canter is the winemaker behind our wine of the week winner — the Quivira, 2009 Wine Creek Ranch, Dry Creek Valley, Grenache Rosé, 13.8 percent alcohol, $15.</p><p>Canter went to last week's Rosé Avengers & Producers Tasting in San Francisco and found a wide range of styles.</p><p><CW-22>“The truth is rosé is more complicated than the sound bites we try to reduce it to,” he said. “Rosé is not a varietal and it's technically not a style.”</p><p></CW>Rosé is made from “bleeding off” or extracting juice from other varietals such as pinot noir, Grenache or Mourvedre.</p><p><CW-30>Canter said when producing his rosé, he's dogmatic about using Grenache that is dedicated to it because the grapes need to be picked earlier for the best acidity. He noted that he doesn't have a specific house style but rather waits to see what evolves. That said, he does pick grapes when they have good acid and ferments in stainless steel to keep the freshness.</p><p></CW>“The best wines are the ones we haven't had to tinker with in the cellar,” he said.</p><p>While Canter acknowledges that many rosés are now coming on the market, he objects to the mindset of distributors who consider “rosé season” roughly between Memorial Day through Labor Day.</p><p>“The mental image is one of sitting on the back porch with a piece of cheese, bread and a bowl of olives. That is the ideal setting for a rosé,” he said, “.<TH>.<TH>. but this is silly because I love drinking rosé in the fall. I also like it in the springtime.”</p><p>Canter said a rosé is an anomaly. “People will sometimes say ‘This is a serious rosé, and a rosé can be good. .<TH>.<TH>. Yet while it's not frivolous or simple, it inherently has a carefree nature to it.”</p><p>Staff writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or at peg. melnik@pressdemocrat.com.</CW></p>