2022 Light Red Wine
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The Marginalia Light Red Wine is cofermented from whole-cluster Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir grown in the same block at Breezy Slope Vineyard on the eastern foothills of the Walla Walla AVA. The exact percentage of each variety varies from year to year, depending on growing conditions (2020 was 3:1 led by Pinot Gris, 2021 flipped the ratio, and 2022 is back to approximately 50/50). The wine is very light in color, but definitely not a Rose in terms of structure or palate intensity. The aroma is strongly influenced by stem inclusion, which confers an herbal, sometimes piney edge. Early pressing minimizes extraction of seed and stem tannins, so we got fresh stemmy aromatics without stemmy astringency. Subtle citrus elements (leaning toward linden blossom), which is a signature flavor of the vineyard, are fairly evident in this bottling. The fruit character is split between crisp apple and Montmorency cherry, leaning more toward juicy cherry on the palate. Aging on lees for six months with occasional stirring softened the edges of the wine and kept it fresh with almost no SO2 added. This is a fantasticaly versatile wine that matches well with lighter prioteins, lots of vegetables and legumes, and can even take a bit of spice: think Chile Verde, Tamales, stir fries with Sichuan chili-bean paste.
This is a special wine made possible by the unique conditions at Breezy Slope Vineyard, nestled in the foothills of the blue mountains, right on the WA/OR border. The elevation, aspect, water holding capacity of the soils, and the rapid air exchange at this site allow cool-climate wine grapes to thrive in the otherwise quite hot climate of the Walla Walla valley.
2022 was a late vintage, with my markers for flavor ripeness starting to hit about three weeks later than usual. Sugars were still low at that point, which allowed us to make a very low alcohol wine this time—only 10% alcohol by volume. Acidity was high at harvest, but softened more than usual during fermentation and elevage because of high potassium levels and higher than usual malic acid (which degrades during the process)—this is a trend we’ve seen for a couple years now. This is a low color wine, looking more like a rose that any previous vintages, but the moderate acid and low tannin fill in the structure to make this drink more like a red wine.
The wine was made by gentle whole-cluster maceration (Pinots Gris and Noir all mixed together, stems and all) for about a week, followed by pressing and finishing in neutral barrels where it aged on lees, with occasional stirring, until bottling. Because of the antioxidant properties of the lees, I was able to keep the sulfite dosage extremely low (about 30 ppm over the entire course of production). The wine is bottled unfiltered.
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Varietal Composition | 51% Pinot Noir, 49% Pinot Gris |
| Appellation | Walla Walla Valley |
| Vineyard | Breezy Slope Vineyard |
| Aging | Neutral French Barrels |
| Alcohol | 10.00% |
| Wine Style | Light Red Wine |
| Volume | 750 ml |
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