With the summer season upon us, many people turn to rosé wines.
In the past, I have not been a huge fan of rosé wines as I find many of them dilute and tasteless. But I recently drank some very interesting and delicious B.C. rosé wines. This is a very exciting category of wines where B.C. wines can excel as they are very reasonably priced for the quality provided. Unlike many other categories of wines, B.C. rosé wines are typically priced lower or at the same price as many imported wines.
The term rosé wine is a generic term to describe wines that are produced where some of the colour from grape skins is incorporated in the wine-making process, but not enough to produce a red wine.
Black-skinned grapes are crushed and are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for between two to 20 hours. Unlike red wines, the grape and juice are then pressed and the skins are discarded during the fermentation process. The longer the skins are left in contact with the juice, the more intense the colour of the final wine.
Many people love rosé wines as they have some of the fruit flavours of red wines without excessive tannins or heaviness. They are typically served chilled which makes them a perfect wine for a hot summer day. Unlike many red wines, because they do not have a lot of tannins, they will be ready to drink right away and are not meant for aging. This ensures that the price of rosé wines is fairly moderate.
Rosé wines can be made from any grape varietal. B.C. wineries have chosen very interesting grape varietals like Gamay and Cabernet Franc to make their rosé wines. I love the elements that these grape varieties bring to a wine and I am very excited about the future of B.C. rosé wines. Below are three B.C. rosé wines that I think are outstanding and provide very good value for the price.
Laughing Stock Vineyards 2023 Rosé - this is their fifth vintage of Rosé wine. Laughing Stock's original owners were financiers so their bottles feature a ticker tape of the price of various stocks on the day the grapes were picked. The wine is a blend of 85-per-cent Gamay and 15-per-cent Pinot Noir. The grapes are whole cluster pressed and fermented mostly in stainless steel (85 per cent), while 15 per cent is fermented in neutral French oak puncheons. You will get cotton candy and cherries on the nose with black plums, raspberry and black cherries on the palate. Only 350 cases of this wine were produced and you can order it directly from the winery for $30 per bottle.
Nk Mip Cellars 2023 Winemakers Rosé - Nk'Mip is the first Indigenous winery in North America and winemaker Justin Hall is part of the Osoyoos Indian Band. This wine is a blend of 90-per-cent Cabernet Franc, 10-per-cent Pinot Noir and is fermented in stainless steel tanks. You will get strawberry, watermelon and rhubarb on the nose with strawberries, black plums and peaches on the palate. It has a slight herbaceous/green finish which lends itself to a great pairing with cheeses or light fish dishes. You can order this directly from the winery for $25.99 per bottle.
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2023 Rosé - Burrowing Owl was established in 1993 by the Wyse family. The estate is named after the endangered burrowing owl. This wine is made from 100-per-cent Cabernet Franc grapes from both their Osoyoos and Oliver vineyards.
The wine is fermented in stainless steel for three months. This is the heaviest of the three rosés featured in this column. You will get watermelon and strawberry on the nose, strawberry, black plums and stone fruit on the palate, finishing with a mineral and licorice aftertaste. This is a food wine that will pair nicely with all types of seafood and chicken dishes.
Burrowing Owl has also just released a cookbook with recipes for three-course meals to pair with each of their wines. The rosé and the cook book can be purchased on their website at https://www.burrowingowlwine.ca/ for $30 a bottle or $44.90 for the cookbook.
For a more detailed review of each of these wines, see my video here.
As quantities of rosé wines are limited, please try one or all of them during the summer months before they sell out. Until next time, happy drinking!
Tony Kwan is a Richmond News columnist. Lawyer by day, and a food and wine lover by night. Kwan is an epicurean who writes about wine, food and enjoying all that life has to offer.
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