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No flash in Bray Vineyard's Best of Class
January 25, 4:26 PMNorthern California Wine ExaminerJulia Hollister
An unpretentious wine from a small Amador County vineyard pulled in the Best of Class Judge’s Choice prize and the Pink Sweepstakes Award at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle’s Wine Competition.
Bray Vineyards’ 2008 Barbera Rosato won the honors at the tasting competition held earlier this month in Sonoma. The public tasting is set for Feb. 20 in San Francisco.
The wine, noticeable with its soft pink color and strawberry, cranberry and cinnamon essence, is playful, delicate and vibrant. Thai and other spicy foods pair deliciously.
“The color helped sell it,” said winemaker John Hoddy. “It’s one of a kind. I happen to think people are interested in rose and ours is a food wine. Most vintners don’t use the Barbera grape because of the high acid. But, I went ahead and it turned out great; although it’s work to get color right.”
For the third year, Hoddy picked the Barbera grape because of the color and fruit that is crushed and kept in stainless steel from three to four months. No special yeast is added during the fermentation process. He adds the red Barbera to bring the color up. It is bottled typically in January and February from the previous year. Bray produces about 3,500 cases a year and only 300 cases of the $17 Barbera Rosato.
“The wine has a clean, bright and fruity nose and a taste that would appeal to anyone,” he said. “So many people are afraid of pink wines because they have the undeserved reputation of being sweet. As a result they can be hard to sell and ours are available in retail stores. Europe has been converted from the White Zinfandel “sweet” syndrome but the United States hasn’t yet.”
Hoddy said he was elated after learning of the winery’s award because he didn’t expect a rose would win a big competition.
“I hope it (the awards) shows other producers that if they make a good wine and are knowledgeable, they can do it too,” he said. “I am happy for Bray Vineyards and hope people will try our wines.”