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Dancing Crow
Rosé Lake County
United States, California, Lake County
Rose
Winery Overview
Dancing Crow's estate vineyards are located near Clear Lake in Lake County where the abundant water, vegetation and wildlife attracted the most concentrated population of Native Americans in California. Early Europeans settlers by the mid 1850's were quick to identify the area as prime agricultural land. Pears and walnuts were popular early crops in addition to vineyards. At one time Lake County was considered "The Pear Capital of the World" . The oldest vineyard was planted in 1901 and is a registered historic vineyard still producing fruit today. Dancing Crow's Sauvignon Blanc vineyard was a pear orchard until in 1998. A Lake County farmers rule of thumb is, plant Sauvignon Blanc where pears thrive and Red Varietals where walnuts do.
Owner/Founder Tony Cartlidge, after selling the very successful Cartlidge & Browne Winery in 2011, was interested in developing a family winery with his wife Sarah and sons Adam and Stefan. Having purchased Sauvignon Blanc fruit since 2002 from the Dancing Crow Vineyard for Cartlidge & Browne's only single vineyard wine, he was aware of the exceptional quality and the unique Sancerre style of wine that could be derived from this site. He was able to purchase this 36 acre vineyard and released the first vintage of Sauvignon Blanc under the Dancing Crow Vineyards label with the 2014 vintage. After acquiring the Dancing Crow vineyard Tony worked with vineyard manager David Weiss and winemakers David and Katharine DeSante to diversify the vines planted to four clonal selections. In 2018 Tony purchased 20 acres in the Kelsey Bench AVA, perhaps the finest red wine growing area in Lake County. 7 of the acres are the historic 'Old Stake 1901 Vineyard,' which has some 20 head trained varietals that compose the winery's Field Blend and are valued components to the Dancing Crow Zinfandel. Adjacent to the ancient vines are 13 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 2017 and harvested for the first time in 2021. Dancing Crow Vineyards works closely with several additional growers to add to their selection of wines. A new state of the art winery has been built next to Dancing Crow's Sauvignon Blanc vineyard and in 2022 Dancing Crow welcomed Scott Kirkpatrick as their new wine maker!
Located just 20 miles north of Calistoga, Dancing Crow and the Lake County AVA boast many similarities to the famed Napa Valley region. Deep, nutrient rich clay soils and high-elevation vineyards deliver concentrated California wines at an incredible value. Regal carries the following Dancing Crow Wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Old Stake 1901 Field Blend.
Dancing Crow owns 3 parcels of estate land totaling to 56 acres under vine. The vineyard elevations range from 1400-1500 feet and the diverse set of vines are anywhere from 4 to 120 years old. All soils are volcanic influenced; a dense black clay for the Sauvignon Blanc, and red, iron-rich, alluvial soils for the Old Stake Vineyard.
Terroir
The vineyard is located at 1300 feet on the lower portion of the Kelsey Bench AVA and sitst on dark clay-loam soils where abundant willows and a nearby pear orchard indicate the riparian nature of the environment.
During summer months, the mountain climate of Lake County sees hot daytime temperatures, yet the vines are able to recover from the heat of the day and respire at night due to cool coastal breezes, which are pulled across the Mayacamas mountain range in the evening by the vast size of Clear Lake. On the eastern side of the lake, Long Valley (the newest Lake County AVA) is tucked into the hills near the remnants of several dormant volcanoes. Here the vines thrive in the rich, fertile volcanic soils, and are lavishly bathed in the hot afternoon sun, yet still cooled at night. This distinguishing combination of factors (mountain elevations, fertile soils, hot days and cool nights) all work in concert to create a unique terroir that allows us to emulate the beautifully delicate Rosés of Provence.
Viticulture
Grenache and Syrah fruit for our Rosé were hand-picked from vineyards on the eastern edge of Lake County.
Vinification
We initiated picks when the grapes were between 19-22° Brix and then pressed the whole clusters with just enough pressure to give the wine a beautiful pale, salmon color. This wine is a blend of 53% Zinfandel and 43% Grenache from the eastern hills of Lake County, with 4% Syrah added to round out the wine with another layer of complexity and increased texture.
Aging
This vintage was aged and fermented in stainless steel tanks for a period of 6 months before being clarified, racked and filtered for bottling.
Tasting Notes
This crisp, dry aromatic Rosé is produced in the classic style of Provençe, highlighting aromas of strawberry candy and fresh lilac. On the palate �flavors of raspberry creamsicle and kiwi are evident, giving way to a bright pop of tart cherry on the �finish.
