Trail Marker Wine Co. Bartolomei Vineyard Rosé of Carignan Mendocino County 2021

An exciting new rosé from the sprawling AVA of Mendocino County, brought to us by Drew Huffine and Emily Virgil. Emily spent years in the film industry in Los Angeles as a costume stylist. On a chance encounter one day, she met Drew, a winemaker dressed in what might seem like a costume but was actually his every day lumberjack attire. They met just weeks before Drew was to fly off to work a harvest in New Zealand. The distance only made their hearts grow fonder and not long after Drew’s return, Emily left LA, married Drew and together they moved to the Bay Area so that Drew could continue to follow his passions in winemaking. Emily quickly found an interest within the world of wine as well, and eventually became the Hospitality Director at LIOCO Wines in Sonoma County. Drew has assisted in making wines with some of the most well respected wineries such as Copain, DuMol, Kosta Brown and Wither Hills. Drew moved on to become winemaker for Tuck Beckstoffer Wines, and in 2013 became the head winemaker for R2 Wine/Roesler Cellars where he still consults. Emily is a motivator and Drew is a purist, and together they were the ideal combination when they decided to launch a project of their own, Trail Marker Wine Co. With the desire to hand craft wines from select sites that are well-balanced, with lifted acidity and low alcohol, they have successfully created wines with a "certain something” about them that defies description. Their fruit is sourced from small lots of distinct microclimates and terroir from Mendocino to Santa Ynez and all in between. The goal of Trail Marker is to work with cooler, coastal sites where flavor development occurs at lower sugars, and the resulting wines become more about finesse. The cellar techniques carry this philosophy forward with a “hands-off” winemaking, fermentations with indigenous yeast, and minimal handling in the cellar. This 2021 Rosé of Carignan is incredibly bright and focused with grapefruit, white peaches and canteloupe aromas filling the glass. The fruit is sourced from the organically-farmed Bartolomei Vineyard, and the result is a zippy, energetic rosé with an attractive fruitiness, lifted acidity and a lovely salinity to finish!