BFFCo. Wine

2006 Nellie’s Garden Dry Rosé

Columbia Valley

Winemaker Notes

Pink is hot! Our Dry Rosé was a big hit when we offered it exclusively to our Vintage

Reserve Club members last year. Based on their feedback, we decided to release it

nationally with this 2006 vintage. The name, Nellie’s Garden, honors Nellie Stimson

whose passion for gardening created the beautiful estate gardens at our Chateau in

Woodinville. The wine is a special collaboration between our red winemaking team

at Canoe Ridge Estate in eastern Washington and the white winemaking team at our

Woodinville Chateau, located outside of Seattle. We receive the red fruit at Canoe

Ridge Estate where Joshua Maloney, our red winemaker, gives it just enough skin

contact for the perfect color. Then he drains the juice off the skins and turns it over

to Brennon Leighton, our white winemaker, who then cold ferments most of the

juice to keep all those fresh fruit and floral aromas. What a team effort and what a

wonderfully refreshing dry rose! It shows beautiful fruit aromas and flavors of strawberry,

cherry, raspberry with subtle spice notes. Enjoy this during your spring and summer

parties and BBQ’s. It’s the perfect “deck” wine…versatile and fun!

Bob Bertheau, Head Winemaker

Vintage

• 2006 was a year of extremes in weather.

• A cooler than normal, wet spring was followed by a very long, hot summer.

• The weather was nearly ideal during the growing season. Summer fell into a

consistent pattern of dry weather, warm days and cool nights.

• Harvest began early, with some white grapes being picked in late August.

• A cool spell in mid-September slowed things down and allowed more hang

time for enhanced flavor development.

Vineyards

• Columbia Valley vineyards lie in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains

and receive just 6-8 inches of rainfall annually.

• Warm, sunny days and cool evening temperatures create ideal conditions for

intense aroma and flavor development in the ripening grapes.

• Sandy soils with low fertility and low water-holding capacity enable precise

control of vine growth.

• A northerly latitude gives the Columbia Valley roughly two more hours of

sunlight daily during the peak-growing season than California, increasing the

region’s ability to ripen fruit.

Winemaking

• Syrah grapes were harvested for a Rose and picked slightly earlier than other

reds for pure, fruit character.

• The fruit was left on the skins for only a matter of hours to allow the grapes

to extract just the right amount of cherry/berry color from the skins, leaving

delicate, bright fruit flavors and aromas.

• 82% of the juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks, while the remaining 18%

was sur lie aged in neutral oak barrels for 2 months to add a rich mouthfeel.

Technical Data

Total acidity 0.65g/100ml

ph 3.38

Alcohol 13.8%

Blend 96% Syrah

1.5% Grenache

1.5% Viognier

1% Mourvedre

Food Pairing

bacon, dijon and thyme

roasted chicken, paella,

pasta, salad potato salad,

mild cheeses

Cascade

Mountians

Seattle

Columbia

Valley

Columbia

River

157 ©

2007 Chateau Ste. Michelle Vineyards &

Wineries, Woodinville, WA 98072