Do you know Steve Edmunds?

His rosés paved the way for today's rosé renaissance. As Asimov pointed out in that many-years-ago article, Steve had already been making gorgeously refreshing dry rosé since long before that was a thing in California.

Makes sense for someone who fell in love with Domaine Tempier back in the day, palling around with Kermit Lynch in Chez Panisse-era Berkeley. But it's amazing that a wine this consistently delicious, and this historical, is one we can just put on the shelf and offer in our newsletter.

Today, Steve remains somewhat of an insider's favorite. We've had meet-the-winemaker tastings with him where we opened bottles going back to the '80s that were just perfect. But his new releases mostly sell to folks who are already in the know. Collectors don't buy and trade them and if you want to drink a mature bottle you'll have to have storage and patience (or generous friends with both).

Because the really amazing thing is that, here in 2021, after so much has happened, Steve's dry rosé is still second to none. Either you already know Steve Edmunds... or you need to.

Edmunds Saint John, Gamay Noir Bone-Jolly Rosé El Dorado County, 2020
Not only has Steve been making dry rosé from his California Gamay since before dry rosé was a thing in California — he's been doing it since dry rosé from Gamay was a thing in Beaujolais!