ZD Wines Rosa Lee's Whim
$18
2009 Rosa Lee Muscat Canelli, Napa Valley - unavailable
ZD Wines is pleased to announce the release of the Napa Valley Muscat Canelli as part of our Rosa Lee wine program. Being Rosa Lee’s whim, she strongly suggested early on that Muscat Canelli was her white wine choice for the year. We were lucky enough to find Bruno Solari, a third generation grape grower in Calistoga who just happened to have a couple of tons available. These wonderfully concentrated, aromatic grapes were hand harvested and fermented entirely in stainless steel. Rosa Lee again suggested that we leave “just a hint” of sweetness, making this a perfect summer sipper. The aroma is intense, with hints of nectarine, orange blossom and ginger. On the palate, ripe peach, pear and honeysuckle linger to make this a truly delicious wine. The beautiful glass enclosure (fondly referred to as the glass slipper) makes this wine an ideal choice for barbeques and picnics: no corkscrew required! Chill down a bottle and enjoy!
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
$18
2008 Rosa Lee Mourvedre, Napa Valley - unavailable
Intrigue your palate and challenge your varietal pronunciation with the 2008 Napa Valley Mourvèdre (moor-VE-druh). Also known as Monastrell in Spain and Mataro in new world wine regions, Mourvèdre is a late budding, slow ripening red varietal that is usually blended with Grenache and Syrah, but does great on its own. The grapes for this wine were sourced from Twin Creeks Vineyard in Wooden Valley, located in southeastern Napa County. The wine was fermented in stainless steel after which it was racked to 50% American/50% French Oak, where it aged for 10 months. Aromas of dried cherry, cedar and cocoa predominate, with subtle hints of plum and spice, and even a touch of earthiness. On the palate, the wine is soft and lighter bodied with smooth well-resolved tannins that highlight the brambly cherry and plum fruit. Only 370 cases were produced.
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
$25
2008 Rosa Lee Viognier, Napa Valley - unavailable
We are proud to introduce this Napa Valley Viognier (that’s Vee-ohn-Yay!). Back by popular demand, no corkscrew is required for this Rosa Lee release! Under the foil is a beautiful glass enclosure (fondly referred to as the glass slipper) making it easier than ever to enjoy. From a vineyard in one of the coolest parts of the Napa Valley, this low yielding, highly aromatic grape was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel barrels; thus preserving the unique character of the varietal. Aromas of peach, apricot and preserved lemons predominate with a subtle mineral note, adding to the complexity. This wine is full bodied and rich on the palate with more stone fruit, honey and lemon rounding out the long, structured finish. Only 200 cases produced. Enjoy!
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
$30
2007 Rosa Lee Petite Sirah, Napa Valley - unavailable
Harvested from the Jonquil Vineyard (named after the fragrant narcissus flower!) located in the hills on the north east border of the Napa Valley, this 2007 Petit Sirah continues our quest to bring new, different and exciting wines to our Rosa Lee program. This 2007 Petit Sirah is dark plum purple in color, with young, bright ripe blackberry and cherry aromas, with a subtle hint of earthiness and sweet vanilla. Young “grippy” tannins envelop the core of focused black fruit on the palate. The wine has great complexity and depth and an amazingly long fruit forward finish!! Only 500 cases were produced. Enjoy!
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
2007 Rosa Lee Gewürztraminer, - unavailable
Russian River Valley
ZD Wines is pleased to announce the release of this 2007 Old Vine Russian River Gewürztraminer (ga-VERTZ-trah-mee-ner), ZD’s first in 25 years. In keeping with our tradition of introducing new and exciting wines, this is part of our Rosa Lee wine program. The grapes were harvested from the Spring Hill Vineyard located in the Russian River Valley at 21.5° Brix and fermented cold in 100% stainless steel. Lower sugar and intensely flavored grapes allowed us to make a dry, bright, vibrant wine with lower alcohol (12.5%). With aromas of apricots, orange blossom, Asian pear and lemon zest, this wine is an aromatic powerhouse! On the palate hints of dried pineapple, lemon, ginger and spice make this wine an ideal pairing with spicy Asian food. Perfect for those lazy summer afternoons. Only 450 cases were produced. Enjoy!!
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
2006 Rosa Lee Syrah, Napa Valley - unavailable
It was late in the season of 2006 when Ray Centanni called ZD Wines. He had been out of town for most of the harvest and when he returned home he found his small vineyard had fully ripened Syrah on the vine. With little time to spare, Ray decided to begin with the end of the alphabet and started calling local wineries. As it turned out, we were looking for a small block of “something interesting” for Rosa Lee’s Whim and as they say… the rest is history. The vineyard provided a tiny yield of concentrated berries resulting in a dark, densely flavored wine. We think you will like it, we do!
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
2006 Rosa Lee Sauvignon Blanc - unavailable
Napa Valley
Wow! It seems like we were just walking through the vineyard to decide when to harvest the grapes for this wine and here it is in the bottle with glass slipper and all. No corkscrew required. Under the tear top foil is a beautiful glass enclosure (glass slipper) making it easier than ever to enjoy a glass of ZD Rosa Lee Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit for this wine was hand harvested from Milliken Creek Vineyard, nestled into the southern part of the Napa Valley. We fermented the juice cold and then filtered to prevent malo-lactic fermentation. The resulting wine is well balanced with a clean crisp finish. This delicious, quaffable Sauvignon
Blanc paired with a chaise lounge, a few oysters and maybe a novel seems appropriately relaxing. To add a touch of sustainability, I am now using the first bottle to hold my kitchen olive oil. Please let us know your thoughts about the wine, glass slipper or just relaxing!
-Brett deLeuze, President/Partner
2005 Rosa Lee Petit Verdot, Napa Valley - unavailable
We are excited to release our first ZD Rosa Lee Petit Verdot. This varietal is historically used as a blending grape in Bordeaux, France. Petit Verdot has proven to shine as a stand alone wine in Napa Valley. Typically a late ripening grape it warms to our California sunshine and expresses attributes of dense color, intense aromas of blackberry and violets, and a wonderful mid-palate. The grapes for this wine were harvested from Frank Wood & Sons Vineyard in Rutherford, one of few plantings in all of Napa Valley. The approach for this wine includes hand punch downs, gentle rackings and 100% American Oak for aging. The wine spent 15 months in barrel and was bottled late in 2006. It is currently showing very pronounced forward fruit with bright blackberry and plum notes, hints of violet and clove, and an integration of vanilla and toast. A varietal known for very powerful tannins, this new release wine is big, but extremely well balanced producing a very dense, rich, mouth coating experience. Drinking great right now, it will be an interesting one to watch as it ages. We bottled only340 cases. We hope you enjoy it! 340 cases. We hope you enjoy it!
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
2005 Rosa Lee Riesling, Santa Barbara County - unavailable
In keeping with our “new” approach to our RosaLee wine program, in 2005 we continued to embrace change and through the careful “fruit hunting” of our Winemaster/CEO, Robert deLeuze, we found a small amount of Riesling from a vineyard in Los Alamos, CA in Santa Barbara County. The grapes were harvested on November 14th at 23.4°B, and were immediately pressed, chilled to 45°F, and fermented entirely in stainless steel. The wine was made in a slightly “off-dry” style with about 1g/100ml residual sugar. Vibrant and racy on the palate, with hints of peach, orange zest and lime in the aroma, this is a perfect summer wine! Chill it down a bit and enjoy!!
-Robert deLeuze, Winemaster & CEO
2004 Rosa Lee Zinfandel, Napa Valley - unavailable
With the 2004 vintage we have taken a new approach with Rosa Lee “the wine”. Following the advice from Rosa Lee “the Lady”, we have embraced change and produced a new variety under her name. After 10 years of producing Rosa Lee Pinot Noir, we present a Zinfandel that embraces the same “whimsical and fun loving” qualities. This single vineyard Zinfandel was harvested on October 16th from the Priest Vineyard in the Napa Valley at a sugar level of 25 degrees brix.
In the aroma, fresh notes of cassis and raspberries marry with toasty vanilla notes from aging in American Oak. On the palate, this wine has rich flavors of ripe fruit and spicy oak flowing into a soft and lingering finish. With only 576 cases of this one produced and available only from the winery, get it while you can!
-Robert deLeuze, Winemaster & CEO
2004 Rosa Lee Pinot Noir, Carneros - unavailable
This fresh vibrant wine has an aroma of toasty, cherry-plum with a just a hint of rose petal and smoky cinnamon. We harvest the fruit for the Rosa Lee Pinot Noir from Jim Haire’s vineyard in the Carneros region. Thirty percent of this pristine fruit was put directly into the tanks and the remainder was crushed, de-stemmed and poured over the top of the whole clusters. This fermentation technique imparts a distinct fresh strawberry-cherry aroma in the final wine. We then age the wine in 60-gallon French Oak barrels until bottling. On the palate, fresh flavors of spicy cherry and plum flow into a smooth lingering finish. Sold only from our tasting room, this Pinot Noir is great for picnics and holiday festivities.
-Robert deLeuze, Winemaster & CEO
2002 Rosa Lee Pinot Noir, Carneros - unavailable
This Pinot Noir, sold only from our tasting room, is what we define as our “Napa Casual” wine. It’s great for picnics and backyard BBQ’s. This wine is all about fresh vibrant fruit, brought on by partial whole cluster fermentation. On September 18th, 2002 we harvested the fruit for the Rosa Lee Pinot Noir at 23.2 brix from Jim Haire’s vineyard in the Carneros region. Thirty percent of this pristine fruit was put directly into the tanks and the remainder was crushed, destemmed and poured over the top of the whole clusters. This fermentation technique imparts a distinct fresh strawberry-cherry aroma in the final wine. We aged the wine in 60-gallon French Oak barrels until bottling. The light red color introduces aromas of fresh dark cherries mingling with smoky cinnamon and nutmeg. On the palate, round fresh flavors of plum and vanilla flow into a smooth, lingering finish.
-Chris Pisani, Winemaker
