Rare Aleatico Grapes Produce Brilliant Dry Rosé Wine
SONOMA (October 17, 2023) — Sam Sebastiani, third-generation winemaker of the respected Sebastiani family, is honored to receive the “Best of Class” and Double Gold Medal awards from the 2023 Sonoma County Harvest Fair for the 2022 vintage of Eye of the Swan Reserve Aleatico Rosé crafted under his La Chertosa label.
In 1975 Sam and his father August Sebastiani created the first “Eye of the Swan” rosé wine. Sam Sebastiani’s La Chertosa “Eye of the Swan” is more than a bottle of wine, it serves as a tribute to his family’s effort to preserve age-old techniques of winemaking. “Our Eye of the Swan is very personal for me,” explained Sam. “It reminds me of spending time with my father, learning about winemaking and waterfowl. Those are happy memories that have warmed me all my life.”
This unique wine is created from a rare Italian varietal called Aleatico, a red-skinned grape with clear juice. The grapes were harvested by hand from the esteemed Serres Ranch. The wine’s magnificent coppery color, so like the eyes of the Australian Black Swan, is created by quickly separating the flowing juice from the color-laden skins. Aleatico grapes are unmistakable, boasting intense floral aromas and strawberry notes along with honey-like Muscat characteristics.
In almost 50 years since that first bottling, this handsome version is a perfect match for holiday foods…dry, full-bodied, and delicious. Only 135 cases were bottled of this special wine which can be purchased locally in Northern California or via www.lachertosawines.com.
Sam’s La Chertosa focuses on small batch wines of less than 1,200 cases annually. “I was pleased to learn that this award is our 100th Gold Medal or higher since establishing La Chertosa nine years ago,” says Sam. “Our 2021 Eye of the Swan Aleatico was also a Gold Medal winner at last year’s Sonoma County Harvest Fair.”
“I started working in Sebastiani Winery in the late 1940’s – washing floors, pumping wine into railroad tank cars and working on our bottling line. I’ve been a part of the wine industry my whole life.” Sam explains, “La Chertosa is literally my swan song. A chance to share what has been my life. I love working with Derek Irwin, Keith Kunde and the Serres’ kids, Taylor, John and Buck. It’s kind of like a knight handing off his sword to the next generation.”
La Chertosa is named for the magnificent 14th century monastery in the Tuscan valley of Farneta, Italy near Lucca where the Sebastiani ancestral roots began. Here Sam’s grandfather Samuele Sebastiani learned from the monks to make wine in the “Old World” style. Samuele came to Sonoma in 1895 and found that Sonoma closely resembled faraway Farneta in three ways; it boasted a mild Mediterranean climate, had the same minteral-rich red soils and was blessed with gently sloping hillsides. He founded Sebastiani Winery in 1904, one of the first wineries in California and employed the time-honored techniques taught him by the winemaking monks in Farneta. The motto of the monks is, “The cross is steady while the world is turning.” Samuele created in Sonoma, the winemaking style Sam continues crafting in La Chertosa wines.
