Wine · Calistoga, California
Lorenza
A mother and daughter making dry, Provence-style rosé from old California vines.
- Founded
- 2008
- Founded by
- Melinda Kearney, Michèle Lorenza Ouellet
- Based in
- Calistoga, California
Making it since
2008
Their story
Lorenza is a family project between Melinda Kearney and her daughter, Michèle Lorenza Ouellet. Melinda handles the day-to-day running of the business, while Michèle helps with blending, design and sales from St. Helena in the Napa Valley.
The idea came from France. Michèle fell for the dry rosés she drank there and told her mother about them, and in 2008 the two started making their own. From the start they treated rosé as a wine worth making on purpose, not a side product of red winemaking.
Though the business is rooted in Napa, the grapes come from farther afield, and the brand has grown to include a canned spritz alongside the bottled rosé.
How it's made
The rosé is a blend of Mediterranean grapes such as Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault, drawn from very old Lodi vineyards including Bechthold, planted in the mid-1800s, and Spenker Ranch. Whole clusters are pressed and the juice goes straight to cold stainless steel for settling and fermentation. The wine is bottled young and kept low in alcohol.
We were never going to make a wine that was an afterthought.
Why we carry them
We like Lorenza because it is a rosé made with real intent, from century-old vines most people never get to taste. It is crisp, dry and easy to share.
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