Birdhorse Wines, Vermentino 2022, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Valley, CA

This Vermentino is bright, citrusy, and herbaceous, with notes of lemon verbena and just a hint of lime pith.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: California

APPELLATION (AVA): Dry Creek Valley AVA

REGION: North Coast

SUBREGION: Sonoma Valley

VINEYARD: Farfalla Vineyard

VINTAGE: 2022

GRAPES: 100% Vermentino

SOIL: Zamora clay loam soils

PRACTICE: Organic

VINIFICATION: Native yeast fermentation, fermented in stainless steel, racked after 4 mos. No malolactic fermentation. Aged on its lees for 5 months. pH: 3.35, TA: 5.9​​

STYLE: Still

COLOR:

BODY: Light bodied

TASTE: Dry

PRIMARY AROMAS: Lemon verbena, citrus, honeydew, lime pith

FLAVOR: Bright, saline, herbaceous

FORMAT: 750ml

ALCOHOL: 13.2%

SERVICE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION: Serve chilled. Pair with spinach and ricotta ravioli.

ABOUT THE WINEMAKERS: Corinne Rich and Katie Rouse

“Corinne was born and raised in Sonoma County, California, to parents that had zero ties to the wine industry other than being passionate consumers. She went on to earn her B.A. in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and, after the world’s briefest stint in pharmaceutical research, she returned to her native northern California and dove head-first into wine production. She spent time working the harvest circuit across a variety of regions, including Sonoma, Willamette Valley, New Zealand, and Australia before returning to school for her M.S. in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis. There she met Katie Rouse and, well, the rest is history! The two worked a harvest in South Africa, got a wallop of inspiration, and returned home to start Birdhorse. When she’s not elbows-deep in a Birdhorse ferment, Corinne has a day job as the assistant winemaker at Scribe Winery in Sonoma.

“Katie did her undergrad at Whitman College, where her rampant enthusiasm for all things rock-related earned her a B.A. in Geology. Born of the grapes into a winemaking family in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Katie naturally gravitated back to winemaking while living in Sonoma, California where she was working in the the Napa/Sonoma Carneros for years. Whilst nerding out and earning her M.S. in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis, she fell head-over-heels for Corinne, and is now thrilled to have found a partner in, well...everything! After working in South Africa, Burgundy, and most recently St. Helena, CA, Katie is the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Co in Sonoma.” (birdhorsewines.com)

ABOUT THE VINEYARD: Farfalla Vineyard

“The Farfalla Vineyard is a young-vine planting in the historic Dry Creek Valley at the north end of Sonoma County. Sitting on Zamora silty clay-loam soils, the vineyard is planted to mostly Italian varieties in a nod to the rich Italian heritage of the AVA. Though no stranger to the intense heat of California summers, the Vermentino grapes have ready access to water with the proximity of Dry Creek and have been organically farmed since inception. “ (birdhorsewines.com)

ABOUT VERMENTINO: Vermentino is an Italian grape, most often associated with Sardinia, though in southern France you will find it by the name of Rolle.