2017 Rosa Fierro Cellars Primitivo – A Hidden Gem To Be Found!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
On the back of each bottle is inscribed the phrase “Big, Bold, Beautiful Wines for Beautiful People”. Nothing could be truer as this woman owned boutique winery specializing in limited small lot production remarkable.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Rosa Fierro opened Rosa Fierro Cellars in 2014 and recently left her full-time job and career as a legal assistant to concentrate 100% on the winery. “Rosie” as she is called, had worked in tasting rooms, made port in her garage and eventually worked with many of Livermore’s better winemakers at a production facility in Livermore. The winery is 100% woman owned. Rosie specializes in handcrafted, small batch production wines. Her grapes come from both Livermore and Napa Valleys. One of the key points of her winemaking is selecting the best grapes in the vineyard. Each varietal is limited to 50-200 cases. Those wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay (both oaked and unoaked versions), Merlot, a Rosé (from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes), Zinfandel, Primitivo, two red blends (LVVC & Casa Red Blend), Petite Sirah and her latest being two distinct Cabernet Franc wines from different vineyards. Her total production is approximately 1,000 cases. She has won many awards in a relatively short time. The tasting room is located at 2245 South Vasco Road, Livermore. The backgrounds on her and her staff on the website are especially creatively done! Rosie’s other passion is photography, and her pictures adorn each unique label.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
In 2025 an article from the Bay Area News Group, Rosie was recognized as one of the top Woman-owned wineries in the United States (https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/1/1/10/livermore-valley-wineries-top-women-owned-wineries./).
Photo ©Michael Kelly
From her website profile:
Rosa Fierro
owner and winemaker
accountant, janitor, tasting room hostess
LOVES: Wine, photography, dogs, music, learning new things
HATES: Mayonnaise, peas, perfume, whispering, telemarketers, gum chewers, missing a good photograph
FAVORITE BANDS: Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Black Eyed Peas, Missy Elliot, Rose Royce, Prince, The Black Keys
FAVORITE WINE: Merlot
EPIC WINE MOMENT: Saving a bottle of 1973 Georges de Latour from flying through the windshield in a near car accident.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
I was looking for a fruity, refreshing medium-body wine to complement the dinner’s richness and spice. The choices were Zinfandel but those in the cellar were “too light” and would be overrun with the meal. Decided on this Primitivo and it was spot on! On the eyes a lush deep brick color and medium body. On the nose aromas of spices and typical earthiness of Primitivo. On the palate, plums, figs and coupled with brown sugar. Blackberry with bramble and pipe tobacco round out the fullness of the ruggedly soft Tempranillo. The finish provided a long and elevated spiciness and a distinct oak flavor. Alcohol level was 15.7% and only 75 cases were produced. This was a Gold Medal Winner at the 2020 San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition. Price was $32 at the time of purchase (2019), I believe this is one of her best production wines thus far!! Today many of her wines are flat out delicious and have won numerous awards.
Her Primitivo today, the 2021 vintage, comes from the Ravenswood Vineyard in Livermore and sells for $42/bottle. Rosie’s 2017 Primitivo will make my annual Best Wines tasted for 2026.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired this evening with another favorite wintertime comfort food, Mongolian Beef. A delicious recipe slicing ribeye roast and various ingredients including canola oil, dry sherry wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame seeds, water, baking soda, brown sugar, minced ginger, scallions and Flatiron Pepper Company’s Dark & Smoky peppers. They included Chipotle, Ancho and Habanero peppers. This provided a tasty sweet and spicy dish. Accompanied by long grain rice and a fresh garden salad including bacon and Reyes Point crumbled Blue cheese. Also sauteed fresh string beans in garlic were prepared.
This recipe is now both of our favorite with the texture and flavors.
The wine was perfectly suited for the meal with its boldness, earthiness and fruit providing a beautiful backdrop to each morsel.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly