Intentionally Rosé

If you find yourself grimacing at the “drink pink” t-shirts and the rosey wine glasses raised to toast on Instagram, then we have something to tell you. Despite your preconceptions, there are rosé wines – like those in the Dundee Hills – that are intentional, complex and award-winning. We’re ready to convince you that this is the year to let rosé claim a space in your cellar!

While you’ve seen rosé rise to fame as the summertime beverage of choice in recent years, it’s roots run centuries deeper. In fact, it’s traced all the way back to ancient Greece, where blended wine from white and red grapes was the custom. The grapes were eventually separated based on color, but the red wines they produced were so aggressive and harsh that rosé remained the preference for several generations. And once the Roman’s discovered the beautiful rosés of southern France and popularized them via their trade routes throughout the old world, this wine’s place in history was cemented.

Fast forward to present day and you’ll find rosé in nearly every tasting room across the United States, including some incredible vintages crafted by Dundee Hills winemakers.

Rosé Wine: An Overview

What exactly is a rosé wine? It’s a genre of wine – like reds and whites – not a specific type of grape. And though it has an unfortunate reputation among some wine drinkers because of the mass produced, sweet, store shelf varieties, a good rosé – like those you’ll find in the Dundee Hills – is crisp, refreshing and sometimes bone dry.

Rosés range from low alcohol in the 11% range to north of 14% depending upon the grape and the style in which it’s made. These wines can be made from any red grape, and typically have notes of red berry, melon, citrus, jasmine, white flower, and apple/pear. While many prefer to drink their rosés very chilled, well-made wines can suffer both aromatically and in taste from being too cold. A high quality rosé should be served slightly chilled, but not freezing cold.

The Basic Strategies for Crafting Rosé Wine

Maceration: Controlled and limited skin contact

The color, flavor and character of the wine are imparted by the juice from the crushed grapes remaining in contact with the skins for a few hours or up to a day. Once the juice has gained enough desired color, it is transferred and fermented.

Saignée: From the French verb saigner (to bleed)

The grapes and skins are crushed and left in a fermenter. After a period of time – hours, to a day or two – a certain amount of juice is drawn off or “bled,” and fermented into a rosé. The grape must that stays behind is made into red wine, which becomes more concentrated both in color and intensity. The resulting rosé will be complex and flavorful, but lighter than the resulting red wine would be.

Blends: Blending a red back into white/blush to add color

This is how many mass-produced blush wines are made, but it can also be used to produce elegant, slightly more robust roses. Blending is also the way rosé Champagne is often made, and in France, that’s the only time blending red and white wines is legal.

A Dundee Hills Toast to Rosé!

The next time you’re in the Dundee Hills, we hope you’ll try something new… something pink! Our region has intentionally produced stellar rosé wines for more than four decades. Our farmers grow grapes specifically for their rosés and it results in a wide range of bold flavors that are refreshing, endlessly versatile and pair well with just about any meal.

View Rosé Offerings On Our Interactive Map

Ready to learn more about the Dundee Hills’ favorite summertime beverage?

ARGYLE WINERY

Varietals: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay
Their 2020 Argyle Rosé is crafted from small, mixed plantings of high density Pinot Noir and Chardonnay planted at Knudsen Vineyard and Lone Star Vineyard. A small amount of direct press Pinot Meunier was blended in at the very end to enhance the floral aromatics and silkiness.
Rosé wines are available in their tasting room and online to enjoy.
Visit Argyle Winery

ALEXANA WINERY

Varietals: Pinot Noir
2011 was Alexana’s first year making Rosé. They whole cluster press their Rosé’ of Pinot Noir. They carefully select the blocks from the vineyard they’ll use for rosé early in the growing season, and harvest those grapes first thing in the morning so they are cool. The grapes are then sorted and pressed immediately off skins at very low pressures to minimize color extraction. And in turn the finished wine has a rich salmon color to it.
Their rosé is not available in their tasting room at this time.
Visit Alexana Winery

CRAMOISI VINEYARD

Varietals: Pinot Noir 100% Pommard clone
Production began in 2017 because they wanted to offer something that was fun, elegant and easy to drink. Their technique is a whole cluster direct press that rests in a stainless steel tank. Their rosé wine is made from estate grapes grown with the biodynamic farming philosophy. It results in a dry, crisp wine with great acidity and beautiful mineralogy. Only 65 cases are produced each year.
Rosé wines are available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Cramoisi Vineyard

DE PONTE CELLARS

Varietals: Pinot Noir
Production began in 2007 with the saignée and press method. Their rosé wines are dry, crisp and the perfect accompaniment for summer.
Rosé wine is available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit De Ponte Cellars

DOBBES FAMILY ESTATE

Varietals: Pinot Noir, Syrah, & Grenache
While they’ve been making rosé for many years, this is their second release in this style. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and sun-kissed Rogue Valley Syrah blend perfectly for a true taste of Oregon rosé.
Rosé wine is available in their tasting room and online to enjoy.
Visit Dobbes Family Estate

DOMAINE DROUHIN OREGON

Varietals: Pinot Noir
Their first vintage was produced in 2007, though over the years their style of rosé has evolved. They utilized the saignée technique for several vintages, but starting in 2016, the Pinot Noir was placed directly into the press, minimizing the contact between the skins and the juice, allowing the wine to maintain as much freshness as possible. The Edition Rosé is one of their most anticipated releases with less than 550 cases produced each year. It is always quick to sell out and has become a summer favorite.
Rosé wines are available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Domaine Drouhin Oregon

DOMAINE SERENE

Varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Production began almost 13 years ago and later this year, they’ll introduce their “r” Rosé v. 13. Domaine Serene farms and presses for rosé, which is a multi-vintage blend using fresh pressed Pinot Noir and barrel aged Chardonnay to build weight and texture to the wine.
Their rosé is available in their tasting room to enjoy, and later this summer they’ll introduce a Rosé Garden utilizing their Grace’s Grove area. Stay tuned for details!
Visit Domaine Serene

DURANT VINEYARDS

Varietals: Pinot Noir
They started making rosé in 2018 with the completion of their winery. They started producing it because it is an excellent wine when not an afterthought: When the grapes are cropped, grown and picked for rosé it can be a fantastic, complex wine that drinks well for years. They have a block of Pinot Noir specifically for rosé. Concrete tanks and Lees stirring bring plenty of texture to accompany the bright aromatics and acid driven body.
Rosé wine is available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Durant Vineyards

ÉLEVÉE WINEGROWERS

Varietals: Pinot Noir
Production began in 2012 on this bright and crisp version of a Pinot Noir. Their rosé is dry, complex and well-loved by their guests.
Their rosé is available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Élevée Winegrowers

FURIOSO VINEYARDS

Varietals: Pinot Noir
Production began in 2017 because they wanted a great “porch pounder” for summertime. They craft their rosé through the direct press method and hope their guests experience the joy of drinking a dry rosé in the summer months.
Rosé wine is available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Furioso Vineyards

HOLLORAN VINEYARD WINES

Varietals: Pinot Noir
Rosé production began 20 years ago and is well loved by their guests. They use a technique of direct to press followed by stainless steel fermentation, which leads to a very pale color.
Rosé wines are available in their tasting room to enjoy year round.
Visit Holloran Vineyard Wines

KNUDSEN VINEYARDS

Varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Their first vintage of rosé was produced from the 2019 vintage, and released in 2021 upon opening their tasting room, The Outlook at Knudsen Vineyards.
Rosé wines are available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Knudsen Vineyards

NATIVE FLORA

Varietals: Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Malbec
Native Flora has made rosés from day one, intentionally. In fact, they make four different rosés, one sparkling and three still. They make Pale Rider, a 100% Blanc de Pinot Noir from whole cluster, no skin contact pressing, The Jolly Rancher which is a pinot noir/pinot blanc co-fermented base topped with Malbec, and Ruby Primo, a proprietary process delivering a wine midpoint between a true rosé and a red wine both in color and savory flavor.
Rosé wine is available in their tasting room to enjoy.
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ROCO WINERY

Varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
After releasing ROCO’s first vintage RMS Brut in 2016, the 2018 vintage Brut Rosé was the next elegant step in ROCO’s sparkling wine program, crafted through the methode champenoise process. Now more than three decades into this craft, Rollin Soles has the most experience of any winemaker in the region with Oregon bubbles. ROCO’s signature RMS Brut and RMS Brut Rosé showcase the excellence made possible by hard-won experience and relentlessly big ideas.
Rosé wines are available in their tasting room to enjoy and they’re offering a special Mother’s Day event on May 8 & 9, where guests can enjoy a glass of the newly released 2018 Brut rosé on the garden patio, paired with three delectable cheeses selected by the winemaker to enhance the tasting experience.
Visit ROCO Winery

SOKOL BLOSSER

Varietals: Pinot Noir
They made our first rosé in1978, which they called Rosé Bouquet. It was renamed to Vin Gris in the 90s and finally Rosé of Pinot Noir in early 2000. They began making Rosé because they wanted a wine that captured the essence of an Oregon summer.
Rosé wines are available all year in their tasting room to enjoy.
Sokol Blosser

STOLLER FAMILY ESTATES

Varietals: Pinot Noir
They started making rosé in 2005 because they wanted a different expression of Pinot Noir. They initially made it as a saignée, but quickly moved to making an intentional Rosé that’s grown in the vineyard and whole cluster pressed. Today, their Pinot Noir Rosé is a cornerstone of our production every vintage. They take their Rosé very seriously and consider it a pinnacle of their portfolio.
Their rosé is available in their tasting room to enjoy.
Visit Stoller Family Estates

WHITE ROSE ESTATE

Varietals: Pinot Noir
White Rose Estate started producing rosé for the very first time in 2020 with the saignée method. Their inaugural rosé will be released this summer for guests to enjoy!
Not yet, but look for it on the tasting menu later this
Visit De Ponte Cellars

WINDERLEA VINEYARD & WINERY

Varietals: Pinot Noir
The 2009 vintage was Winderlea’s first year making a Rosé of Pinot Noir. Proprietors Bill and Donna have always taken this often looked over white wine, pretty seriously, which is why it’s made using the intentional method. This ensures that the integrity of the fruit is kept intact.
Beginning in May, the 2020 Rosé of Pinot noir will be available in the tasting room and on their current flight of wines.
Visit Winderlea Vineyard & Winery

RESOURCES TO EXPLORE

April 15, 2021News Wines of the Dundee Hills