Gris de Gris des Sables is a particular style of rosé wine made especially in the Camargue, a blend of southern red grapes like Grenache and Cinsault, pressed gently to extract a delicate, pale salmon color. For more than a century the Saumade family has tended vines on the sandy shores of the Camargue delta in the south of France. The sea is but 200 yards from the edge of their vineyards—and this influence, from the air’s moisture that keeps vines quenched to sea salt that keeps them healthy, is why organic viticulture here is as natural as the tides and the call of seabirds overhead.

Estate vineyards are located near the Camargue delta along the southern French coast, not far from Montpellier. Soils are exclusively sand, well-draining and nutrient-poor, but provide ideal terroir for southern grape varieties. The coastal humidity keeps vines from suffering hydric stress; the salt air keeps vine disease at bay. Barley and rye are planted between rows during the winter months to prevent wind erosion; in the spring, the crop is tilled under as a natural fertilizer. All vineyards are certified organic.

Grapes are harvested overnight when temperatures are coolest, and are immediately pressed gently and then fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats on indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged also in tank, and bottled in early winter to preserve the vintage’s fresh fruit.