Jupiter Wine Co. "Flamingo in a Flock of Pigeons" Negroamaro Rosato NV

Why Negroamaro Rosato? The winemakers at Jupiter Wine Co. are tired of rosé all day -- what they wanted is rosé without cliché. A wine that has the refreshment of their favorite salty whites, the thoughtful texture of a light red and the bitterness of an aperitivo. Why make yourself an Aperol Spritz when you can have all of that -- and more -- from organically farmed fruit?

Negroamaro is such an intriguing and wonderful grape. Grown abundantly in its native Puglia (the heel of the boot) and practically nowhere else, Jupiter's winemakers were stoked to work with fruit from the little patch of Negroamaro planted and organically farmed at Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino. Loosely translating to “dark bitter,” the grapes are actually not especially dark, but there is a pleasant bitterness that comes through on the palate (think cherry pits or plum skins), making it the perfect choice for a super complex rosato. Always a good candidate for outdoor day drinking -- just be sure to save a glass or two for when the food comes off the grill, because that’s when this wine really starts to shine!

All grapes were lightly foot-tread and macerated on skins and stems for about five days. After five days of cold maceration, the grapes were pressed into fiberglass, where fermentation began naturally without temperature control. Primary and secondary fermentation occurred with wild yeasts and native bacteria from the vineyard, and the wine was allowed to rest on all lees for ten months. It was bottled without fining or filtration, with 20 parts winemaking sulfur added prior to bottling.

Artwork: "Flamboyancey" by Sarah LaPierre.

The people behind Jupiter Wine Co. are more than just a community of like-minded individuals that share a love for minimal intervention wine. They aim to establish an economic engine that stands up to consolidated, corporate wine and the economic apartheid those organizations have created towards agricultural and hospitality workers.

Those organizations have appropriated the term "sustainability" as a sales and marketing tool without considering the economic sustainability of the most fragile communities essential to its creation. What they’ve given us are gross domestic products in their pursuit of Gross Domestic Product. When you support Jupiter Wine Company, you can have the confidence that 100% of the profits generated go to affordable housing solutions for the communities most responsible for its creation.