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Hazelfern Cellars 2017 Winter Rosé
How do you turn on the tractor?
The hype couldn’t possibly be true: Winemakers raving about their wines. Media gushing about their Pinterest-worthy barn-turned-tasting-room. Friends telling me that I just had to check out Hazelfern.
And you know what? It’s all true. And even more so, you’ll be immediately charmed by Bryan and Laura Laing. For eight years, they had been making wine in the basement of their Northeast Portland home, right there on Hazelfern Place, five gallons at a time.
In 2014, after a “quarter-life crisis”, they picked up their two daughters and a ping-pong table and moved to a farm outside Newberg. Two city kids, five acres, a horse barn, and a tractor they didn’t know how to use.
Today, they’re rising stars in Oregon wine – and farmers in the truest sense of the word. Their daughters have collected a menagerie of dogs, cats, and chickens. The horse barn is indeed Pinterest-worthy, and the wines… well, they’re extraordinary. Their joy, their hard work, and their awesome sense of humor about it all just sings with everything they do.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Hazelfern Cellars, Newberg, Oregon
2017 Winter Rosé
Wait, a rosé in winter? That’s right – this full-bodied rosé is perfect right now. Not only that, but our theme is “wines we love” and I’ve been obsessed since the day I tried this wine.
Bryan is typically the lead winemaker, but this one is Laura’s brainchild. Hazelfern wines are always intended to be enjoyed with food, and the Winter Rosé is no exception. The grapes are picked for this wine, and aged in barrel for 10 months for a holiday season release.
95% Pinot Noir and 5% Barbera, this wine is fruit forward and yet savory with glorious acidity to cut through your hearty winter plate. As Laura says, it’s paired best with good friends and great conversation. You’ll pick up aromas of pomegranate, cinnamon, and clove alongside flavors of cranberry, blood orange, and rosemary.
Oh, and one more thing: The last 15 cases of this wine on the planet earth are headed for Cellar 503 members. The winery is officially sold out. So, enjoy it – and be sure to mark down next winter for more rosé!
A Cellar 503 selection in February 2019, Wines We Love Willamette Valley | Barbera, Pinot Noir
