National Rosé Day!

Not just for summer, a refreshing and vibrant Rosé is our go to wine for year round entertaining due to its fabulous versatility. A true gourmand’s delight, it complements many types of cuisine from traditional French, to spicy Chinese, to a casual barbecue or picnic, or can be enjoyed as an aperitif.  One of the oldest known types of wine, dating back to 600 BC, Rosé wines are typically made from red grapes. The pink hue of a traditional Rosé is based on the time the grape skin stays in contact with the juice, (also known as maceration).

Sophisticated, savoury, and certainly not “girlie”, the aromas of our 2015 vintage are a veritable fruit basket of ripe strawberry, rhubarb, citrus blossom and Ambrosia apples. The palate is classic Provençal dry with distinct fresh wild strawberry and Rainier cherry notes. This vintage is comprised primarily of our supple Merlot with a dose of our estate Pinot Gris to contribute elements of stone fruit, pear and minerality.

Our Merlot was treated in two ways. The majority of grapes were sent directly to press resulting in a fresher more fruit forward juice. Unlike the maceration method which gives some, albeit very brief, time for the juice to be in contact with the skins, “vin gris” wines are made from the immediate pressing of red skin grapes without any maceration time. Despite the name vin gris, the resulting juice is actually not grey but rather a very pale pink that is much lighter than traditionally made rosés using the limited maceration and saignée process.

A small portion of our Merlot was also treated in the “saignée method”, in which some fermenting juice is taken from a traditional style red ferment part way through the process. This “bleeding off” of the juice after limited skins contact, imparts more colour and structure without the drying tannins.

A wine that is just at home on the patio as it is in the dining room, our Rosé pairs brilliantly with a variety of dishes from traditional Mediterranean, to spicy Asian, to informal alfresco entertaining.  Just under 400 cases produced, the wine is available at our south Langley and Naramata Bench wineries, and on our e-commerce site.

Rosés can also of course be made into champagne, traditionally using the Pinot Noir and or Pinot Meunier grape. We are excited to produce our very first sparkling Pinot Noir Rosé last year.  Look for the 2015 vintage release in the winter of 2017/2018.

A taste of summer all year long!

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