Aurora Cellars is starting the 2022 season off with a bang! This season, we are releasing four new wines for our patrons to enjoy. The new releases include a 2020 Pinot Noir, a 2021 Sauvignon Blanc, a 2021 Rosé, and our new sparkling pinot grigio named Leora.
2020 Pinot Noir
The 2020 Pinot Noir is a mix of two vineyards. When producing the wine, Aurora Cellars Winemaker Drew Perry used a mix of clones 115 and 777. During the fermentation period, the Pinot Noir juice spent two weeks on the skins in order to extract color and then went through two different fermentations. Before being bottled, the wine spent 14 months in French Oak barrels – 15% new, 30% second use, and 50% third use.
The classic bing cherry combined with clove and vanilla notes from the barrel aging process makes our Pinot Noir a prime example of what the variety can produce. If you’re looking to pair a glass of Pinot Noir with your meal, wine experts describe this variety of wine as a “catch-all food pairing wine.” It is light enough to be paired with salmon but also complex enough to hold up to some richer meats like duck.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc
The 2021 Aurora Cellars Sauvignon Blanc primarily comes from one of our newer plantings from a vineyard that is higher in elevation. The benefits of that location include a great heat built up during the summer months with good airflow that helps minimize the need for aggressive canopy management and sprays. Winemaker Drew Perry explains that to pull every bit of varietal character possible out of the fruit, we used a tried and true method of a long skin soak. Our cellar crew crushed the fruit and cold soaked it overnight in order to give us the highest potential of aromatic precursors to work with. Before being bottled, we fermented the juice dry and kept it cool.
The crisp, citrus notes of the Sauvignon Blanc pair well with numerous cuisines. Wine experts suggest pairing it with white meats such as chicken, pork chops and turkey. You can also pair it with several different types of fish. When looking to pair this white wine variety with a cheese, look for softer, more briny and sour cheeses like Goat’s milk cheese, yogurt, and creme fraiche.
2021 Rosé
When it came to producing our 2021 Rosé, we used a blend from one of our oldest vineyards – with two of the blocks specifically selected to become a field blend between Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. These two varieties are white varieties and may seem like an odd choice for a Rosé wine, however, we decided to use the first crop off of one of our Merlot blocks to give the wine the blush hue. During the fermentation process, we kept it cool and stopped with a small amount of residual sugar to balance the bright acidity.
The crisp finish of Meyer lemon and bright, ripe Michigan tart cherry makes this rose the ideal wine to enjoy all year round. This variety pairs well with cheese, fish, grilled light meat, pastas and salads.
All of these wines are available to taste and purchase in our tasting room! Come visit us seven days a week!