Big Salt "Orange Rosé" Hood River, OR 2022

FROM OVUM

THE WINE: What is an orange rose you ask? We don’t know either. Big Salt “Orange Rose” is nearly an equal blend of ramato style Pinot gris, and Big Salt FERMENTED & AGED IN NEUTRAL BARREL. The combination of these production methods left us with a wine that doesn’t look or smell like a rose – it isn’t as funky or extracted as an orange wine – it lives somewhere in between…or beyond?

2021 BSOR has a cranberry meets Sunny D color, perhaps due to the 14 day PG skin fermentation. The Big Salt components that went into barrel saw anywhere from 8 hours of skin contact up to 3 days. It’s aromas remind me of an orange creamsicle stirred into a cup of hibiscus tea steeped with autumnal spices. There’s a heavy dose of galangal and roasted carrot notes on the palate, which has the grip and power of a gravely red wine.

Big Salt “Orange Rose” on the surface is a fun wine, but hiding in the depths is a brooding root veg earthiness. So, feel free to soak in the sunny, warm shallow waters, it’s nice there – but if curiosity pulls you to the deep end you may be rewarded with the earthly delights of Oregon terroir.

THE PRODUCER: Established in 2011 by Ksenija and John House, Ovum was founded in hopes of producing Oregon wines that are honest reflections of time and place. Our low intervention production method is a commitment to letting the vintage and vineyard shine, not the vintner. Fruit comes first - our top priority is finding farmers that share our beliefs, and then getting out of the way so their hard work can be tasted.

Native ferments, no subtractions or additions, except for SO2 - extended lees contact 8-9 months, for textural complexity. All of this is done in neutral barrels of acacia and oak, as well as cement egg and Austrian cask. Ovum is committed to the exploration of Oregon’s wine growing regions by producing transparent wines of place. We remain open minded to embracing the diversity of Oregon, and will offer small production red wines given the time and place.

At Ovum, each wine is produced the same way - if the wine smells and tastes different, it has everything to do with terroir, and little to do with the winemaker. Our hope is that through our attention to detail and honest technique, we can produce old fashioned wines in the modern world.