2009 Nou Nou Nouveau is not Rose!

Nouveau is not rose wine for two clear cut reasons.  

1.  Nouveau is released during the same year it is harvested.  It is fresh and green.  In the Southern Hemisphere harvest occurs during the early part of the calender year which affords more time for aging so make sure you are drinking a CALI NOUVEAU for Thanksgiving otherwise you’ll miss out on the “green freshness”.  Frankly it should be a local tradition.  It began as such and there is nothing “green” about burning jet fuel half way around the world for delivery of Beaujolais nouveau in plastic.  Our people deserve the best and some of the best come from right here in Napa / Sonoma County.

2.  Whole Cluster Fermentation via carbonic maceration.  Whole grape clusters are shoe horned into a closed top fermentation tank and fermented whole, green stems and all.  Next the grapes are starved of oxygen. Eventually the yeast penetrate the grape skins and go to work inside the berry.  This occurs at low temperature.  Minimal tannin extraction is part of this design because the fermenting juice inside the berry does not make contact with the exterior grape skin.   Eventually these berries explode and release natural sugar into the tank for a prolonged ferment.  Fermentation is long and cold.  Aromatics are big and mouth feel is soft.

Rose wines do not involve carbonic maceration or whole cluster fermentation.  Rose wines are often of tertiary importance, drawn from large fermentation lots immediately after crush to increase the skin to juice ratio for premium red wines, which is the true focus of the winemaker.  This is known as saignee.  Some rose wines (a.k.a vin gris) involve dedicated rose programs.  In this case grapes are picked earlier in the season at lower pH levels; essentially white wine is made from red grapes and released the following Spring.

Whole cluster fermentation is the signature of a Nouveau wine.