60 Days of Rosé | #08 | Amplify Wines | “Pink Flag” Rosé of Counoise | Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California | $21.99

This wine is crazy. And by that we mean, crazy amazing! “Pink Flag” rose from Amplify Wines is really unlike any other rose we’ve tasted this year. I mean, that hazy crazy beautiful color alone is mind-blowing! When you pour a glass and hold it up to the sun, you notice how its silken texture flows and shimmers in the most summery, let’s-get-on-a-boat-right-now kind of way. Take a sip, and your palate is pleasantly shocked with an amped up grapefruit brightness, which is perfectly tempered by refreshing salinity and satiny, nutty richness. You should definitely drink it while listening to Wire’s influential album of the same name 🙂

How do they do it? Well, the way this wine is made is very, very unusual.  Husband & wife winemakers Cameron & Marlen Porter age 50% of the wine under flor, using a method similar to that used to make Vin Jaune or Sherry. This contributes the sea salt, almond, saline character. The other half of the wine is more reminiscent of classic Bandol rosé. The marriage of these two styles makes for a very complete, savory rosé, one that expresses a new side of the Santa Barbara’s famed Camp 4 Vineyard through the Counoise grape.

Our enjoyment of this wine is even greater because of the ethos of Cameron & Marlen, who were born and raised in Santa Barbara County. They believe in native yeast fermentations; neutral vessels for fermentation and aging; no additions of any kind except for minimum effective sulfur dioxide; and farming that seeks to establish a healthy ecosystem, enhancing and supporting the natural characteristics of a given place.

The exploration, and elevation, of their California growing region has been their life’s work. They first bonded over a shared love for wine and music, and Amplify is a natural extension of this marriage between their two greatest passions. As winemakers, they seek to amplify the voice of site and enhance the most singular characteristics of a given vineyard, marrying a sense of place with a sense of style. They embrace the happy accident, letting intuition guide their hand, with their creative spirit and palates as their primary tools.

Amplify Wines “Pink Flag” rosé is extremely limited. The winery produced 81 cases of the 2017 vintages, and this is the first time it’s ever been available in Vermont. Only a handful of cases are available across the whole state! It’s hard to miss this wicked cool label on our expansive “wall of rosé” copper bar display – come and snag yours today!

About Amplify Wines “Pink Flag” rosé from www.amplifywines.com:

• 100% Counoise
• Primary and Secondary fermentation: Native yeast
• Vessels: 100% neutral oak. Barrel fermented and aged. 5 months in barrel.
• Biological aging: 50% aged under flor, 50% topped-up
• 13.9% alcohol
• Finished pH: 3.4
• Sulfur: None at crush, none during elevage. 15 ppm at bottling.
• Unfined and unfiltered.
• 81 cases produced