2006 Mount Tamalpais Vineyards Vin Gris, Marin County

Our Vin Gris (dry rosé) is the ultimate summer sipping wine. Fresh, fruity and perfectly dry, it is available only seasonally and sells out quickly. Made from gentle "free run" juice of our Merlot and Pinot Noir, it never sees an oak barrel and is blended with a dash of Riesling. Crisp and dry, it makes those great summer days last and last.

Price: $18/bottle

• Awards & Accolades •

90 Points - Editor's Choice
– Wine Enthusiast Magazine

• Vintage 2006•

The growing season in early 2006 was incredibly wet and set the conditions for significant botrytis pressure. Warmth in May added to this pressure and by bloom botrytis was having a field day since we do not spray inorganic chemicals in our vineyard like most other wineries. A welcome heat spike in July and a warm August helped the vines ripen wonderfully and we harvested on October 12 at 22 Brix.

• Vineyard •

Our Vin Gris comes from two vineyards (seven and fifteen years old) located less than eight miles from the frigid Pacific Ocean in west Marin County. The vineyard terrain is characterized by gently rolling hills with moderately fertile soils composed of decomposed marine sedimentary (sandstone) and Haire loam. We employ organic viticulture, so no petrochemicals, lots of hand-tilling, cover crops and lots of ladybugs are de rigeur . Our vines are heavily influenced by the Pacific Oceans considerable climatic prowess which results in harvest occurring 3-4 weeks after the better-known districts of Napa or Sonoma. Thankfully, our cool west Marin vineyard sites gives us naturally high acidity, a hallmark of the Old Worlds finest bright & racy dry rosés.

• Winemaking •

After hand harvesting, hand sorting, detsemming & crushing our individual lots of Marin Merlot and Pinot Noir, we immediately “bled off” part of the free run juice to make our deliciously dry “ Vin Gris ” rosé. This age-old technique also contributes a nice degree of richness to our Merlot and Pinot Noir. This fragrant, pink “free run” juice was immediately placed into a neutral stainless steel tank where it began a long, cool (65 F) fermentation using Champagnes Prise de Mousse cultured yeast. At dryness we racked the pink wine and chilled it to stop malolactic fermentation (ML), the natural process which transforms the acid structure and makes many Chardonnays taste like a butterball turkey. After all, we want a zippy dry rosé with bright acidity. As to barrel treatment, we consider our Vin Gris an “ Oak-Free Zone ” so it has never seen any oak. Lees stirring over the next five months contributed a nice texture and at bottling we added some of our racy & dry Riesling to enhance aromatics. We bottled 185 cases in March 2007 in a stelvin-sealed bottle which perfectly preserves its freshness. We think it is a superb summer sipper.

• Wine Facts •

Regional Composition: Marin County – 100%
Varietal Composition: 61% Free-Run Merlot, 28% Free Run Pinot Noir, 9% Riesling
pH: 3.21
TA: 0.67 g/100mL
Alcohol: 13.5%
RS: Dry
Total Production: 185 cases

Fact Sheet

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