The Wine Knows

When I interviewed winemaker Rob Griffin on Friday about his Sangiovese rosé, which won best rosé Friday in the S.F. Chronicle competition in California, he remarked to me that he believes a pink wine is the best use of Sangiovese in Washington.

He added that a red wine made from Washington Sangiovese is the worst use.

Griffin loves making comments like that, stirring up a bit of controversy here and there. And he makes wines that generally back up his words.

We've looked at Northwest rosés pretty closely the past three years, and we've come to the conclusion that Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc seem to make the best pink wines (we've seen excellent versions from other varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Syrah, but these two varieties tend to be consistently terrific). So I thought I'd go through the last year's worth of Wine Press Northwest reviews to see how Sangiovese rosés and reds fared.

Rosés

-- Maryhill Winery 2006 Rosé of Sangiovese (Double Platinum)
-- Barnard Griffin 2006 Rosé of Sangiovese (Double Gold)
-- Farm Boy Wines 2005 Rosé (Sangiovese/Cabernet Franc) (Outstanding)
-- Claar Cellars NV Busty Blush White Bluffs Rosé (Sangiovese/Chardonnay) (Outstanding)
-- Viento Wines 2006 Chukar Ridge Vineyard Sangiovese Rosé (Excellent)

Reds

-- Maryhill Winery 2004 Proprietor's Reserve Sangiovese (Double Gold)
-- Lost Mountain Winery 2005 Boushey Vineyards Sangiovese (Double Gold)
-- Five Stars Cellars 2005 Sangiovese (Recommended)
-- Leonetti Cellar 2005 Sangiovese (Excellent)
-- Mannina Cellars 2005 Sangiovese (Recommended)
-- Trio Vintners 2005 Sangiovese (Excellent)
-- Walla Walla Vintners 2005 Sangiovese (Excellent)
-- Claar Cellars 2003 White Bluffs Sangiovese (Excellent)
-- Capstone Cellars 2005 Boushey Vineyards Sangiovese (Excellent)
-- Cuneo Cellars 2004 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Bricco Sangiovese (Recommended)
-- Kyra Wines 2005 Sangiovese (Outstanding)
-- Lone Canary Winery 2004 Sangiovese (Recommended)
-- Merry Cellars 2005 Sangiovese (Outstanding)
-- Tamarack Cellars 2004 Sangiovese (Recommended)
-- Zerba Cellars 2004 Sangiovese (Excellent)

We've tasted a lot more red Sangioveses than pink Sangioveses, and this list doesn't include any we might have rejected during the blind tasting process. But based on this list, the rosés are consistently good to great, while the reds are average to good (with occasional greatness). I would not necessarily agree with Griffin that red Sangioveses are "bad," but the pink versions do tend to be better.

West Coast Sangiovese has long been controversial. The red grape of Tuscany produces some of the world's great wines in Chianti Classico, Montilcino and and Montepulciano. But when it has been transplated to California, the wines were nothing like those from the Old World. It was quickly learned that Sangiovese couldn't just be grown anywhere like it is in Italy. Once the grape was figured out a little better, California began to produce more credible Sangioveses. Washington has been going through the same issue.

Interestingly, another classic Italian red variety, Nebbiolo, is marvelous in its native Piedmont, but it's been a shadow of that greatness wherever else it's been planted.