2023 Cep Vineyards Hopkins Rosé of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California, USA

 ABOUT THIS WINE

The 2023 Hopkins Rosé of Pinot Noir is fresh, bright, and immediately gratifying. The light floral and fruit aromas draw immediate attention emphasizing watermelon and strawberry leaf along with a Belgian beer yeast aroma (a honeyed, yeasty aroma). The wine is whole cluster pressed, tank fermented with no secondary fermentation. It is an intentional rosé made by pressing off Pinot noir in a bladder press with minimal time on the skins and, as such, has great intensity, elegance, and character. It is fermented in tank and the texture is crisp with medium to light body and quite a surprisingly long, salt/brine finish. 

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Peay Vineyards is a first-generation family winery. Husband and wife, Nick Peay & Vanessa Wong, grow and make the wine and brother, Andy Peay, and his wife Ami, sell the wine and run the business.

All wines are made from grapes grown on our 53-acre estate vineyard located above a river gorge in the far northwestern corner of the Sonoma Coast, 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean at Sea Ranch. We sit in the chilly inversion layer with fog and wind from the Ocean maintaining cool temperatures with plenty of sunlight.

Winemaker Vanessa Wong left her position as winemaker at Peter Michael Winery in 2001 to launch Peay Vineyards. Formerly she worked at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Domaine Jean Gros and Hirsch Winery.

We farm organically and maintain our licenses for fish friendly farming and integrated pest management. The health of our vineyard dictates these approaches to farming and making wine. We also run on bio-diesel at the vineyard and solar power at both the vineyard and winery.