The Lake House Denmark’s Garry Capelli shares how our Great Southern Rosé is made, from grape to bottle.
As pretty as a pastel pink sky pre-sunset, with a light, fresh flavour to match; our Great Southern rosé is one of our favourite drops of wine to enjoy by the lake. And while it might not get the honour of being named after a specific grape, there’s more to rosé than meets the eye.
While made using red grapes, rosé sits somewhere between a red and white wine, often referred to as a relaxed, fun style that varies in taste, fizz, colour and production.
At The Lake House, our winemakers produce a balanced and refreshing drop using grapes from our Mount Barker vineyard.
“Our Great Southern rosé is produced from Shiraz grapes grown in the cool-climate, Great Southern wine region,” The Lake House Denmark head vigneron Garry Capelli says. “The Shiraz grapes are carefully monitored on the vine and harvested when an optimal balance between vibrant red fruit flavours and crisp acidity is reached – often a couple of weeks before the rest of the fruit is harvested for heavier red styles.
“The fruit is harvested in the early hours of the morning, when temperatures are at their lowest, and transported to The Lake House Denmark winery where the grapes are gently crushed and chilled further.
“The next step is responsible for our Great Southern rosé’s beautiful rosy colour. After the crushing process, the juice is left in contact with the skins for 12 hours, which allows it to pick up a touch of colour and hints of savoury texture.
“The juice is then gently separated from the skins and collected in a stainless steel tank, where it is chilled to 5 degrees and allowed to settle. The now clear, ruby red juice is fermented at low temperatures to preserve all of its aromatics. The ferment is stopped via chilling, with just a low amount of sugar remaining to balance the inherent fresh acidity.
“The use of cool-climate Shiraz, with its typical violets, spice and hints of pepper, adds a unique complexity to this delicious fruit-driven style. In order to capture these delicate subtleties, our vignerons prepare our Great Southern wine for bottling as soon as possible… and it arrives a short time later at The Lake House Cellar Door and bottle shops across Australia.
“Once open, our Great Southern rosé will fill your nose with the scents of strawberries, cherries and a hint of spice. On the palate, expect a beautiful balance between ripe plum and blackberry, with hints of spice and raspberry leading to a crisp, citrus finish – making it the perfect accompaniment to a long day spent lazing in the sunshine or a laid back dinner party with all of your friends.”
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