Flirtation is a Rosé of Merlot. Rosés are made by limiting the amount of time the juice is in contact with the grape skins. Red wine gets all of its color from the grape skins; the juice itself is clear. For example, White Zinfandel is made from the red Zinfandel grape with no skin contact. Rosé was originally developed as a byproduct of a technique to concentrate red wine to make it deeper in color and flavor. Juice was "bled off' from the main fermentation shortly after it was started to change the ratio of the skins to the remaining juice.
The juice that was bled off is typically quickly fermented in stainless steel, bottled, and sold immediately as an inexpensive summer sipping wine. This is logical as it is a waste byproduct of the primary objective of concentrating the main fermentation. Rosés made with this method tend to be light in color, sometimes sweet, and fairly simple wines.
Flirtation Rosé is not made this way. To start, we don't want to concentrate our red wines more than they already are. Plus every one of our wines should stand alone as a masterpiece from the skill of our winemaker, David Yorgensen. A dedicated batch of grapes is used so we are optimizing every step of the process to make the greatest rosé we can. The grapes are crushed then the juice and the skins start the fermentation process. After approximately 6 hours, depending on the color achieved, the juice is pressed off the skins and the fermentation is completed in French oak barrels. After the fermentation has gone completely dry (no residual sugar), then Flirtation remains in the 33% new French oak barrels for 10 months, the same barrel fermentation and aging program that our Chardonnay goes through.
The result is a wine with depth and complexity, but with a nose of strawberries and cream. We have converted many people who said they didn't like Rosé to be Flirtation fanatics!
The back of the label was written by Barb. It says:
Our dry Rosé of Merlot
Reveals alluring aromas of strawberries and cream
Bright teasing acidity
A silky lingering finish
and just enough grape skin contact
to make it blush!