Renegade London Wine 'Araceli' - 2019 Pinot Grigio Ramato - Skin Contact Pink
Type | White, Rosé |
Grapes | Pinot Grigio, Grauburgunder, Pinot Gris |
Country/Region | United Kingdom |
Vintage | 2019 |
Grapes grown in the Pfalz, Germany.
Hand harvested then shipped by Renegade in refrigerated trucks at 2˚C direct to the London winery.
Wine fully made in London, UK.
This is one of the most interesting and unusual wines we've made (so far!). She'll be divisive for sure.
It's Pinot Grigio but not as you know it. What is Pinot Grigio? It's the same as Pinot Gris and the same as grauburgunder. In English it should probably be called 'Grey Pine'. Essentially the grapes are a greyish, pinky, golden colour, hence the 'grey/gris/grau/grigio' and the bunches look like pine cones, hence the 'pinot, pinot, and pine'.
So, the 'Peeeno Greeeeeeegio' most people know is an easy drinking, Italian grown, Italian made, white wine. It is generally made by fermenting the pressed, clear juice of Italian grown grapes, generally in stainless steel. It is often extremely inoffensive.
Why is this wine, ‘Araceli’ a strange colour? Well we ferment it fully on the skins for 2 weeks, so the pinky golden skins colour the wine and make it go 'ramato' or 'copper' as the Italians call it. It's essentially a red wine but made from pink grapes (rather that red grapes). It is fermented using wild yeasts, present in the winery and on the skins of the grapes. We do not add yeast. We also do not add any finings or any other additives to the grapes, juice or wine. We do not filter it either so it may be slightly hazy. It spends a little time aging in new French oak, but it is mainly fermented and aged in a stainless steel tank.
So what is it like? Think of a skin contact/orange style of white wine but with more red wine style structure and palate weight. Or maybe think of a barrel aged rosé on steroids. It is a really complex, unusual wine that has notes of white pepper, cherry, vanilla, cloves, and a real wild strawberry-ness when it starts to open up. She's got a lightly tannic yet soft structure but is really well rounded and changes constantly as you drink her.
How should you drink her? This is something none of the Renegade team really agree on. Some of us like her chilled, so some of us drink her at 5 degrees, some at 8, some at 12 and some at 17. Our advice is probably get her slightly-chilled/chilled and see how she changes as she warms us!!
Who is Araceli? Araceli or Ara for short, is a woman. She is 36 and originally from Madrid but now lives in Shoreditch, that trendy part of East London. She's a Data Scientist and works in the media world. Yes, those are her real eyes, they are pretty incredible right!!
Please be aware that this product is unfiltered/unfined and may therefore be cloudy or contain some sediment.
Renegade London Wine is a cutting edge Urban Winery based in Bethnal Green, East London.
They do not grow grapes. They purchase small parcels of top quality grapes from around the UK and Europe, hand harvest them and race them back to London and make wine.
When they started making wine in 2016 they were copycat winemakers. They asked the growers how they should make wine with their grapes, and they did what they said. This was a mistake. They should't be copying other styles. London should be leading the charge on new wine styles, winemaking approaches and using both ancient and modern techniques.
So in 2017 they changed. Our wines change year on year and they rarely repeat a wine or style. They make around 12-14 wines a year with a total current production of around 28,000 bottles. This may sound like a lot but it's really tiny for a commercial winery. This is one of the main reasons our wines are not cheap. They try to keep them as affordable as possible but they know that they need to be worth the money.
Each label shows the eyes of a different person who lives in the UK. They may not be born in the UK, they may not have gone to school in the UK, but they're part of this country. They each form a key part of the rich tapestry that makes the UK special. As as urban winery based in London, many of the faces are Londoners. That's just how it's worked so far. Anyone can apply to be on the labels.
Crafted by world class young winemakers, Renegade makes modern, innovative, premium wines here in London. Why? No appellation rules, no tradition, no BS. Just great wine.
Top Quality. Modern Wine. Made With Love In London.