WASHING TON — It鈥檚 not uncommon for winemaker Steve Monson and his staff at to work around the clock during fall鈥檚 harvest months — and nightfall is perhaps the most exciting time of these 24-hour days. That鈥檚 when the vineyard鈥檚 team ventures out into the rolling hills of the winery鈥檚 52 acres to pick the grapes at their ideal wine-making temperature.
Last year鈥檚 harvest at the 3-year-old Madison County, Virginia, estate resulted in 6,000 cases of wine. And while most bottles from the harvest won鈥檛 be released for several more months, about 600 cases are currently being enjoyed by a growing base of wine connoisseurs: the ros茅-lovers.
What was once thought of as an overly sweet wine with a fate destined for a budget-friendly box is now experiencing a renaissance. In fact, 2014 marked the ninth straight year of double-digit growth for ros茅 wine in the U.S., including a 聽jump in 2013.
the change in the pink-wine perception has a lot to do with an improvement in the wine鈥檚 quality and in the winemaker鈥檚 approach to ros茅鈥檚 production.
For years, ros茅 was treated as an afterthought. Many winemakers would blend their white wine with a little bit of juice produced from the red to yield a wine pink in color. But for Monson and a growing number of producers, ros茅鈥檚 production is premeditated.
鈥淲e grow our vineyard specifically to make ros茅,鈥� says Monson, who adds that Early Mountain Vineyards’ blocks of Malbec and merlot vines are grown for its聽production.
鈥淲e make this wine to be its own thing. We don鈥檛 see it as a by-product or a fashion statement. It is really a unique wine that has a place inside of the textures and flavors that we look for in the winery.鈥�
Wine drinkers are taking notice of 鈥渘ew鈥� ros茅s for their flavor profiles, which are much different from what Monson calls 鈥渙ld-time ros茅s.鈥� They鈥檙e drier, lighter and “more elegant,” Monson says, making them ideal for summer鈥檚 warm afternoons and evenings. Early Mountain Vineyards releases its ros茅 wine around the first of April every year to cater to the springtime demand.
Swati Bose, owner of in Northwest D.C., serves ros茅 throughout the year, but says she notices a spike in the number of bottles and flights ordered between May and August.
In addition to serving the traditional dry and crisp French Provence-style ros茅, Bose also pours bolder, more full-bodied varieties聽from countries such as Hungary and Italy. At her Chinatown wine bar, she offers customers an opportunity to experience the different flavor profiles, side by side, in a聽ros茅 flight.
鈥淭he wines on our flight go from a crisp and mineral driven 鈥� to a medium-bodied wine with aromas and flavors of berries to a full-bodied wine that can hold up to a lot of our food,” she says
Bose聽says cheese, charcuterie and olives are great appetizers to pair with any style of ros茅, while seafood and meat hold up nicely to a full-bodied blend.
Just because ros茅 is most commonly consumed as a warm-weather beverage doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 limited to summer sipping. In fact, both Bose and Monson say it聽can be enjoyed year-round.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the few wines that can pair with spring salads all the way through [the holidays],鈥� Monson says. 鈥淲e really love it with turkey. 鈥�. We really promote turkey, cranberry sauce, all of the traditional Thanksgiving favorites really love ros茅. It鈥檚 a wine that鈥檚 good from April 1 to December 1.鈥�
Making the case for Virginia wine
Unlike Bose, Monson doesn鈥檛 offer a global sampling of ros茅s in Early Mountain Vineyards’ tasting room. He will, however, pour visitors some of his favorite Virginia wine varietals.
鈥淎ny good bottle in the state, we hunt it down, we find it, we drink it and we鈥檒l serve it to our customers. So you can come here and have a virtual tour of all the different places and wines of Virginia.”
It may sound odd 鈥� promoting another business just down the road 鈥� but Monson says the state鈥檚 winemaking community is collegial, and promoting all Virginia wine is central to the winery鈥檚 mission.
鈥淲e see ourselves as, really, a platform for discussing Virginia wine and the quality that鈥檚 already here. We鈥檙e not trying to reinvent the wheel or push the ball forward; we just want to act as a microphone for the quality that鈥檚 already in this state,鈥� Monson says.
Luckily, Early Mountain has the financial backing and support to be the state鈥檚 microphone. It鈥檚 owned by AOL co-founder Steve Case and his wife Jean, who, Monson says, have been fans of Virginia wine for decades.
The Cases purchased the vineyard in 2011, and have since invested in state-of-the-art equipment and knowledgeable staff to produce a product worthy of national attention, while staying true to the state鈥檚 tradition.
鈥淲e really want to make wines that are pure of place, and the way to do that is to make wine the way it could have been made 100 years ago,鈥� Monson says.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to be California, we鈥檙e not trying to be France, we鈥檙e not trying to be South America or South Africa 鈥� We are Virginia, and the product we make here, we鈥檙e very proud of. And we want the drinkership across the country to really recognize the unique things that we do here.鈥�
In addition to ros茅, Early Mountain produces everything from merlot, to Chardonnay, to a reserve pinot grigio. In the next three to four years, the winery plans to grow its operation to produce about 10,000 cases of wine, or roughly 120,000 bottles.
But first, it has to grow local consumption. Monson says about 4 percent of the wine consumed in the state聽is Virginia wine. And while the tasting room is packed on weekend days, Virginians aren鈥檛 going home and drinking Virginia wine.
But that鈥檚 not to say diners, chefs, sommeliers and restaurateurs aren鈥檛 taking notice. This year, Early Mountain Vineyards landed on the list of finalists in the annual for Regional Food and Beverage Producer of the Year.
Monson is excited about the future of Virginia wine: He says the state is great at making cabernet franc and merlot, and he sees tannat and petit manseng coming to the forefront. He also adds that many winemakers in Virginia are willing to explore聽new varietals and styles, which sets the state apart from other wine regions. For example, in 2014 Early Mountain experimented with a聽saign茅e聽ros茅.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a bleeding ros茅 made kind of as a by-product from red wine making, which can be very good in itself, but for us, we have a very elegant base wine and we blend in 15 percent of the saign茅e to bring interesting textures and flavors and ripeness that you don鈥檛 typically get from ros茅 blocks,鈥� Monson says. 鈥淚t can really enhance the overall character of the wine.鈥�
鈥淲e are making wine specific to our place, our time, our climate, and the wines reflect what it is that makes Virginia special. The quality is here. It鈥檚 not comparable to anywhere else in the United States and that鈥檚 exactly how we want it.鈥�
