The Wine: Rosehaze Pinot Gris 2020

Purity Wine Rosehaze 2019 is a rose' natural wine made from 100% Pinot Gris grapes farmed organically in Contra Costa County, California. The grapes were lightly tread by foot and left macerate for a few hours before pressing; the juice was then transferred to a tank where it completed fermentation. As proudly states by talented winemaker Noel Diaz on the label, the only ingredient for Rosehaze Pinot Gris is grapes.

The Producer: Purity Wine

Purity Wine is the brainchild of Noel Diaz and this is his story as told by the man himself.

"After working in restaurants for almost 20 years, and having passed through almost every position in the front of the house, I found myself gravitating more and more towards wine… A little over nine years ago, just before the birth of my first child, I was invited to take the Wine & Spirits Education Trust level 3 course. The class was a great experience and became a pivotal point for me. About a year later I was invited to attend the level 1 course of the Court of Master Sommeliers' program. This eventually led me to study for and pass the Certified exam in 2011.

At about this time, I was running a wine program for a local Italian restaurant. My employer asked that I look for a wine for a private label he wanted to incorporate into our beverage program. In doing this, and dealing with all the inherent legal regulations, I began to see a path towards production. I started reading everything I could about the science of wine and Began asking every winemaker who came into the restaurant how they did what they did.

By 2012, I was searching out a winemaking space and getting licensed. 2013 was my first year as a winemaker, and ever since, I’ve tried to build on the previous year’s experiences. As of 2016 all of the fruit I source is grown organically, and as of 2017 I’ve entered into a lease to farm a vineyard in Calaveras County."

The Region: Contra Costa County