Broc Cellars ‘Fox Hill Vineyard’ Rosato 2023
Location: United States, California
Winemaker: Chris Brockway
Grapes: 95% Montepulciano, 5% Sangiovese
Winemaking: Farmed organically. Hand harvested. Immediately foot stomped and pressed the Montepulciano grapes into stainless tank to naturally ferment and age for six months. All grapes come from Fox Hill, our certified organic vineyard in Mendocino.
From the Producer: Fox Hill is one of the most unique vineyards in California today. What makes the 60-acre vineyard so special is the 25 Italian grape varieties and several Spanish varieites that call it home. Fox Hill is a CCOF certified organic vineyard owned and farmed by us at Broc Cellars. The vineyard came under our ownership in 2023 after a long partnership sourcing Italian varieties from Fox Hill for nearly a decade. It is very rare to find such a wide variety in one place anywhere in Northern California and we are so excited by all the possibilities Fox Hill has to offer!
Our first harvest at Fox Hill was in 2013 of the Nero d’Avola for our Badger wine. It was our first time working with Italian grape varieties and we immediately fell in love with the results. A decade later, we continue to expand the number of delicious, everyday wines we make from Fox Hill to include the Amore Rosso, Amore Blendo, Amore Bianco. More to come! Fox Hill is the Italian oasis it is today because of long-time owner Lowell Stone. In the 1980s, Lowell ripped up Chardonnay and Riesling vines to plant suitcase vine cuttings brought back from Italy. His vision defied conventions of the time to plant varieties he passionately loved – and loved to drink. We are forever grateful to him.
Chris Brockway has helped manage farming operations for Fox Hill since 2021, continuing the early work of Sam Bilbro, joined by Evan Lewandowski, to help Lowell farm for more than a decade. The vineyard became officially CCOF certified organic in 2024, after many years of transitioning to organic farming practices such as the use of cover crop as an important tool. Cover crop helps us farm in many ways from enriching soil health with necessary nutrients, boosting water retention, weed control, and support overall vine growth. In Spring, sheep graze among the vines, managing the crop cover and fertilizing the soil. The soil is predominantly mineral-driven redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone, with large quartz pieces that are easy to trip over when weaving between the vines. Fox Hill is nestled on the Talmage Bench, an uplifted former riverbed from the Russian River. Bunches of pennyroyal are found scattered among the 20+ year-old vines.
From the Importer Selection Massale: Chris Brockway came to call Berkeley home (for his cellar anyways) by way of Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born and raised, Seattle, and finally Los Angeles, with a couple short stops in between. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, he began working in restaurants around the city before decamping to the Pacific Northwest, where he ultimately became interested in wine. After a friend joked that he should learn how to actually make it, he packed his things and enrolled in winemaking courses at UC Davis. Before finishing, he made the move to Cal State Fresno, which has its own functioning winery, and this is where he became an expert, as he says, in everything he does not use.He finished his studies and quickly landed a job at JC Cellars, by all means a conventional winery. At the same time he began to frequent Terroir, San Francisco’s first natural wine bar, and began to think a lot about experimenting with the wines he liked to drink. And so, with a few small experiments, Broc Cellars was born.His facility comprises two warehouses, one with multiple stainless steel, concrete, and wooden tanks, the other a dedicated barrel and concrete egg room. All fermentations are done with native yeasts, and for the most part he forgoes the use of sulfur. If needed, he will add a few milligrams about four weeks before bottling so that it fully integrates into the wine.
Location: United States, California
Winemaker: Chris Brockway
Grapes: 95% Montepulciano, 5% Sangiovese
Winemaking: Farmed organically. Hand harvested. Immediately foot stomped and pressed the Montepulciano grapes into stainless tank to naturally ferment and age for six months. All grapes come from Fox Hill, our certified organic vineyard in Mendocino.
From the Producer: Fox Hill is one of the most unique vineyards in California today. What makes the 60-acre vineyard so special is the 25 Italian grape varieties and several Spanish varieites that call it home. Fox Hill is a CCOF certified organic vineyard owned and farmed by us at Broc Cellars. The vineyard came under our ownership in 2023 after a long partnership sourcing Italian varieties from Fox Hill for nearly a decade. It is very rare to find such a wide variety in one place anywhere in Northern California and we are so excited by all the possibilities Fox Hill has to offer!
Our first harvest at Fox Hill was in 2013 of the Nero d’Avola for our Badger wine. It was our first time working with Italian grape varieties and we immediately fell in love with the results. A decade later, we continue to expand the number of delicious, everyday wines we make from Fox Hill to include the Amore Rosso, Amore Blendo, Amore Bianco. More to come! Fox Hill is the Italian oasis it is today because of long-time owner Lowell Stone. In the 1980s, Lowell ripped up Chardonnay and Riesling vines to plant suitcase vine cuttings brought back from Italy. His vision defied conventions of the time to plant varieties he passionately loved – and loved to drink. We are forever grateful to him.
Chris Brockway has helped manage farming operations for Fox Hill since 2021, continuing the early work of Sam Bilbro, joined by Evan Lewandowski, to help Lowell farm for more than a decade. The vineyard became officially CCOF certified organic in 2024, after many years of transitioning to organic farming practices such as the use of cover crop as an important tool. Cover crop helps us farm in many ways from enriching soil health with necessary nutrients, boosting water retention, weed control, and support overall vine growth. In Spring, sheep graze among the vines, managing the crop cover and fertilizing the soil. The soil is predominantly mineral-driven redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone, with large quartz pieces that are easy to trip over when weaving between the vines. Fox Hill is nestled on the Talmage Bench, an uplifted former riverbed from the Russian River. Bunches of pennyroyal are found scattered among the 20+ year-old vines.
From the Importer Selection Massale: Chris Brockway came to call Berkeley home (for his cellar anyways) by way of Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born and raised, Seattle, and finally Los Angeles, with a couple short stops in between. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, he began working in restaurants around the city before decamping to the Pacific Northwest, where he ultimately became interested in wine. After a friend joked that he should learn how to actually make it, he packed his things and enrolled in winemaking courses at UC Davis. Before finishing, he made the move to Cal State Fresno, which has its own functioning winery, and this is where he became an expert, as he says, in everything he does not use.He finished his studies and quickly landed a job at JC Cellars, by all means a conventional winery. At the same time he began to frequent Terroir, San Francisco’s first natural wine bar, and began to think a lot about experimenting with the wines he liked to drink. And so, with a few small experiments, Broc Cellars was born.His facility comprises two warehouses, one with multiple stainless steel, concrete, and wooden tanks, the other a dedicated barrel and concrete egg room. All fermentations are done with native yeasts, and for the most part he forgoes the use of sulfur. If needed, he will add a few milligrams about four weeks before bottling so that it fully integrates into the wine.
Location: United States, California
Winemaker: Chris Brockway
Grapes: 95% Montepulciano, 5% Sangiovese
Winemaking: Farmed organically. Hand harvested. Immediately foot stomped and pressed the Montepulciano grapes into stainless tank to naturally ferment and age for six months. All grapes come from Fox Hill, our certified organic vineyard in Mendocino.
From the Producer: Fox Hill is one of the most unique vineyards in California today. What makes the 60-acre vineyard so special is the 25 Italian grape varieties and several Spanish varieites that call it home. Fox Hill is a CCOF certified organic vineyard owned and farmed by us at Broc Cellars. The vineyard came under our ownership in 2023 after a long partnership sourcing Italian varieties from Fox Hill for nearly a decade. It is very rare to find such a wide variety in one place anywhere in Northern California and we are so excited by all the possibilities Fox Hill has to offer!
Our first harvest at Fox Hill was in 2013 of the Nero d’Avola for our Badger wine. It was our first time working with Italian grape varieties and we immediately fell in love with the results. A decade later, we continue to expand the number of delicious, everyday wines we make from Fox Hill to include the Amore Rosso, Amore Blendo, Amore Bianco. More to come! Fox Hill is the Italian oasis it is today because of long-time owner Lowell Stone. In the 1980s, Lowell ripped up Chardonnay and Riesling vines to plant suitcase vine cuttings brought back from Italy. His vision defied conventions of the time to plant varieties he passionately loved – and loved to drink. We are forever grateful to him.
Chris Brockway has helped manage farming operations for Fox Hill since 2021, continuing the early work of Sam Bilbro, joined by Evan Lewandowski, to help Lowell farm for more than a decade. The vineyard became officially CCOF certified organic in 2024, after many years of transitioning to organic farming practices such as the use of cover crop as an important tool. Cover crop helps us farm in many ways from enriching soil health with necessary nutrients, boosting water retention, weed control, and support overall vine growth. In Spring, sheep graze among the vines, managing the crop cover and fertilizing the soil. The soil is predominantly mineral-driven redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone, with large quartz pieces that are easy to trip over when weaving between the vines. Fox Hill is nestled on the Talmage Bench, an uplifted former riverbed from the Russian River. Bunches of pennyroyal are found scattered among the 20+ year-old vines.
From the Importer Selection Massale: Chris Brockway came to call Berkeley home (for his cellar anyways) by way of Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born and raised, Seattle, and finally Los Angeles, with a couple short stops in between. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, he began working in restaurants around the city before decamping to the Pacific Northwest, where he ultimately became interested in wine. After a friend joked that he should learn how to actually make it, he packed his things and enrolled in winemaking courses at UC Davis. Before finishing, he made the move to Cal State Fresno, which has its own functioning winery, and this is where he became an expert, as he says, in everything he does not use.He finished his studies and quickly landed a job at JC Cellars, by all means a conventional winery. At the same time he began to frequent Terroir, San Francisco’s first natural wine bar, and began to think a lot about experimenting with the wines he liked to drink. And so, with a few small experiments, Broc Cellars was born.His facility comprises two warehouses, one with multiple stainless steel, concrete, and wooden tanks, the other a dedicated barrel and concrete egg room. All fermentations are done with native yeasts, and for the most part he forgoes the use of sulfur. If needed, he will add a few milligrams about four weeks before bottling so that it fully integrates into the wine.