Grosgrain: Washington’s Pet-Nat Naturals
Washington Wine has always been about respecting the fruit it produces by offering a representation of the terroir in bottle. You never really see butter-bomb chardonnay or “Oak Monster” (notice me, Gary Vee) Reds from worthy Washington producers.
It’s no surprise that as the trendiness of low intervention, euro emulating “pet-nats”, or natural wines, ambitious Washington producers would find comfort in the art of letting the fruit, and the production room, do the talking.
I’ve had the pleasure of drinking through a lot of different low-alcohol, natural wines from around the world, and while sometimes an acquired taste, i’ve really found that there are really great situations where a pet-nat fits the bill. Washington State has a few producers making great pet-nats, one of which being Grosgrain Vineyards, a relatively new venture based in Walla Walla.
Today’s wine is the 2019 Rosso from the Old Milton Vineyard, a representation of the vines planted around the tasting room on-site. It’s a great blend of Nebbiolo and Aglianico, this was near-perfect homemade pizza wine. The one thing I’m never going to remember with pet-nats is to have a glass ready when you pop the cap, because I lost about 4oz when I opened it, just slightly chilled from the fridge. Being a 2019, this wine doesn’t necessarily have a lot of time left in bottle, as it’s intended to be drank young, but nearly 2 years since bottling, this wine was in its stride. The mouthfeel of a medium-bodied, slightly sparkling red wine is just delicious, and the drying tannins of this wine really balanced out fattier meats on a pizza.
I’m a big fan of what Grosgrain is doing in general. I’m a club member (with an overdue pickup, sorry about that if you’re reading this) and am always impressed of the cool risks this producer takes in varietal and in treatment. Its nice to see someone coming and using uncommon varietals to the region, choosing organic fruit when possible, and turning out a really great product at a really attractive price point.
This wine was super limited when it was released, so I know that at this point there’s probably 0 chance of getting this Rosso unless you break into my house and get the other bottle I have; but take this as an endorsement of what Grosgrain is doing in Walla Walla and know that the pet-nats they’re making are quality!
