Rosella's Vineyard was the first site Roa planted with vines and is the northernmost of their vineyards.
Rosella's Vineyard is the northernmost of Roa's vineyards, where Roa first planted grapes. Planted in 1996, it is named after Gary's wife Rosella. The rows of vines climb the slope from the mountainside of River Road, often shrouded in mist. The sandy soil allows for good drainage, and the vines have deep roots, which give the wines complexity. They grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Rosella's Vineyard wines are known for their expressive aromas and smooth, supple flavors. Clones 113, 667, 777, 23, Pisoni, Pommard Soil Arroyo Seco Sand. This season started off with another unusually dry winter for the Highlands. Rainfall this year was 190.5 mm, below the average of 254-355.6 mm. "The different stages of bud break, veraison and harvest all occurred about two weeks earlier than normal. As with the 2017 vintage, we had a long period of warm weather until the first weekend in September, which accelerated ripening and shortened the time frame in which we had to complete the harvest to 23 days. Our yield was about 30% less than normal and very light. We are very happy with the final wines, especially the concentration and freshness that come from the early harvest."
The refreshing aroma of grapefruit peel and apple blossoms is impressive. The deep fruitiness and luxurious drinking experience are reminiscent of warm Mediterranean orchards. The silky smooth and fresh texture is a characteristic of Roa.
Gary and Rosella Franscioni, the third generation of a century-old farm family who grew potatoes and beans, realized the potential of the Santa Lucia Highlands as a grape growing region and began cultivating Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1996. Their old friend and neighbor, Gary Pisoni, gave them some of his Pisoni clones, and their high-quality grapes were purchased by luxury wineries such as Testarossa and Costa Brown. The first VTG in 2001 was highly acclaimed, and when Ed Kurtzman took over the winemaking in 2007, the wine's popularity increased and it became difficult to obtain even in the United States.
Although Roa Wines is a winery that has received high praise from wine rating agencies, it is a family-run business and is not particularly large. The two sons, Adam and Nick, grew up watching their parents sincerely working with the land, and they support the winery as vineyard manager and brewer, respectively. Currently, Roa produces wine from grapes from five vineyards, including one they own jointly with Gary Pisoni, in addition to their own vineyards, and Scott Shapely is in charge of brewing. Shapely has experience working as a winemaker at Siduri and joined the family in 2012, when Roa was selected as one of Wine Spectator's "TOP 100". The Francioni family continues to run the business as a family, and the entire family discusses everything from vineyard management to blending, but the final decision seems to be made by Rosella.
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