Pinosé – 2024

Pinosé from Cantina Kurtatsch: A rosé made from pure Pinot Noir

The Pinosé from Cantina Kurtatsch is a dry rosé wine from South Tyrol, pressed from Pinot Noir and categorized under the Weinberg Dolomiten IGT designation. Not a byproduct of red wine production nor a sweet summer wine, but a directly pressed rosé with raspberry notes and real bite.

The Pinosé from Cantina Kurtatsch is a varietal rosé wine made from Pinot Noir, bottled in 750 milliliters and vinified dry. The grapes come in part from the estate’s best Pinot Noir vineyards, which is anything but a given for a rosé. With 13.0 percent alcohol, it stands closer to wine than to a refreshment drink and carries the Weinberg Dolomiten IGT origin on its label.

Raspberry, wild strawberry, and a dry finish

Salmon pink with a copper shimmer at the rim, the Pinosé sits in the glass, brighter and clearer than many a rosé from the south.

On the nose, there is fresh raspberry, wild strawberry, and a hint of blood orange. The palate reveals a fine tannin structure, the kind only Pinot Noir can provide, and the finish remains juicy and longer than one would expect from a rosé.

Vinified dry, it ends without any sweet aftertaste. This sets it apart from those rosés that stick to the palate after just the second glass. Those who previously thought of rosé as a drink without a personality of its own will be proven otherwise here.

With grilled salmon and a traditional platter

The Pinosé is right at home on the terrace, but it shows its full range at the dinner table.

It finds its match with grilled salmon, tuna tartare, and a traditional platter with mild cheese, and it even stands up to the spice of Asian cuisine. It should be served well chilled at eight to ten degrees in a wine glass, as it loses its bouquet in a narrow flute.

Those looking for its red brother will find it in the Pinot Noir from the same estate, and for an alcohol-free option, there is the non-alcoholic grape juice.

Directly pressed instead of "saignée"

A rosé can be made in two ways, and the Pinosé takes the significantly more laborious of the two.

Instead of drawing off juice from a red wine mash, the winery presses the Pinot Noir grapes directly, just as one would for white wine. For this, the grapes must be harvested specifically for this purpose, and earlier than for red wine.

The vines grow between 400 and 650 meters on reddish-brown, sandy, and loamy soils with clay minerals and oxides. In this case, "reddish-brown" means iron-rich, and such soils give the Pinot Noir its spicy foundation. It is fermented and aged in stainless steel at a controlled temperature so that the berry fruit truly makes it into the bottle.

A rosé for the long evening

The Pinosé is a wine for June and September, and everything in between as well.

It is best enjoyed young, in the year after the harvest, because the clear berry fruit fades noticeably afterward. A bottle is enough for four to five glasses, and once opened, it keeps in the refrigerator for another two days. The fragrance diminishes slightly, but the berry fruit remains surprisingly stable.

More from the south of South Tyrol can be found in the Cantina Kurtatsch assortment. Rosé with backbone.

Origin and values

• Origin: Wine from Italy
• Growing region: Weinberg Dolomiten IGT
• Grape variety: Pinot Noir
• 13.0% vol. alcohol
• 6.0 g/l acidity
• 2.5 g/l residual sugar