Roth Estate
Overview
Roth Estate is a family-owned winery dedicated to crafting full-flavored wines grown in exemplary Sonoma County vineyards. Beginning in 2001, Roth committed to producing classic Bordeaux varietals in Alexander Valley. A decade later the winery expanded its winemaking to include cool-climate varietals from the Sonoma Coast.
Site-Specific Wines
Nestled in the southern reaches of Alexander Valley, Roth’s home vineyard is comprised of gentle rolling hills. The low-vigor, volcanic-based soil shapes Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines of intensity, depth and concentration.
Nearby lowland sites adjacent to the Russian River provide zesty, citrus flavors and rich, elegant textures for Sauvignon Blanc.
Heading west to the heart of the Petaluma Gap, cool-climate Sonoma Coast sites produce rich, ripe Chardonnay and elegant Pinot Noir with vibrant acidity.
Winemaking
Under the dedicated direction of winemaker Jesse Katz and consultant David Ramey, Roth wines are crafted to produce the most authentic expressions from the vineyard sites where the grapes are grown.
The grapes are harvested block-by-block to allow full-flavored and well-balanced development. The red wines are cold soaked in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks and then gently brought to room temperature to encourage native primary fermentations. Choosing to naturally ferment with indigenous yeast strains further enhances the wines’ expression of site.
Extended maceration following fermentation encourages greater extraction of flavors and structural development. Once maceration is complete, the wines are aged in French and American oak barrels. To develop balance and complexity, an array of coopers is used. Prior to bottling, the wines are gently clarified, yet remain unfiltered to maintain authenticity, expression and character.
The white grapes are handled gently and upon arrival at the winery are presorted and gently pressed as whole clusters to maintain the delicate flavors and aromatics. The Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in stainless-steel tanks and cold stabilized, while the cool-climate Chardonnay is barrel fermented to produce stunning aromas of honeysuckle and vibrant green apple characteristics. Both white wines are gently filtered prior to bottling.
Sonoma Origins
Roth Estate’s origins began in the Alexander Valley. A region named for pioneer Cyrus Alexander, who settled there after receiving a land grant from the Mexican government in the mid-1800’s, Alexander Valley and more recently Sonoma Coast have earned acclaim for their ideal wine-growing conditions.
Alexander Valley
A narrow, warm and diverse appellation, Alexander Valley is located at the northern end of Sonoma County. Hot midday temperatures give way to maritime conditions in the evenings and mornings when just enough fog makes its way up Russian River Valley into Alexander Valley. This balance of warm and cool benefits the Bordeaux varieties for which Alexander Valley is best known.
Sonoma Coast
The Sonoma Coast AVA is the largest in Sonoma County and California’s most extreme region, climate-wise.
Its boundaries run along the Pacific Coast from the Mendocino County line in the north down to San Pablo Bay and Marin County in the south. It encompasses more than 500,000 acres, with only about 7,000 acres presently under vine.
With daytime highs typically in the low 70’s and nighttime temperatures that fall to the 40’s during the growing season, the Sonoma Coast is the coolest AVA in the state, barely allowing grapes to ripen. These cool conditions are caused by the fog and wind that breeze through the Petaluma Gap and lengthen the region’s growing season. A typical harvest sees a majority of the region’s grapes harvested in mid-October to November — quite a contrast to warmer regions, where harvest usually begins in August.
