27 Aug Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Full Tilt Wines 2024 Rosato, Covelo AVA, Mendocino County

When we are in the full heat of the summer, it’s time to go Full Tilt. That is, with the Full Tilt Wines 2024 Rosato, Covelo AVA, Mendocino County, the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About

Full Tilt is a wine project between Craig Sutphin and his daughter Mila. Craig is a certified renaissance man: winemaker, viticulturist, philosopher, teacher, builder, and track star. Full Tilt Wines is his experiment-turned-passion project, rooted in the “do nothing” farming philosophy of Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka. Fukuoka believed that nature, when left alone, finds its own balance, and that philosophy extends from vineyard to bottle in every Full Tilt wine. They follow a “zero-zero-zero” ethos: nothing added or taken away in the vineyard, nothing added or taken away in the cellar. This is the essence of natural winemaking.

The grapes are grown in Covelo, a tiny AVA in northern Mendocino County with only 2 acres under vine. The wines are made at the Richmond Wine Collective, a shared urban winery in Richmond’s Marina Bay District, where Full Tilt is one of 21 small producers.

Craig and Mila made two rosé wines – a Rosado and a Rosato. The Rosado (Spanish for rosé) is a Tempranillo and Grenache blend, while the Rosato (Italian for rosé) is a blend of Frappato and Nero d’Avola. That might sound unusual, but it’s a classic Sicilian combination: Sicily’s only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, is made from those very grapes.

Tasting Notes

The Full Tilt Wines 2024 Rosato, Covelo AVA, Mendocino County is a crimson pink color. The nose offers aromas of rhubarb, pomegranate, and wild red fruits likes strawberries, raspberries, and cherries. On the palate the wine is smooth with acidity that tingles on the tongue and a savory finish.

Food Pairing

The balance of acidity and fruit notes, the wine is a versatile choice for lots of dishes, seafood, meats, pastas, and salads. I enjoyed this wine with a bowl of beef bulgogi with mushrooms.

Where To Purchase

The Full Tilt Rosato retails for $24. To learn more, contact Craig at Full Tilt Wines via Instagram