Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I love getting my mom something special to enjoy. The great thing about Rosé is that it is still something that most people don’t drink as their “go to” wine of choice. When you start talking to people about pink wine it tends to conjure up images of blush zinfandel. Rosé is not the sickly, sweet pink wine of days past. Wineries have been making what I can only describe as “serious” Rosé. It is typically made more dry, or at least with better balance between sugar and acidity. In turn consumers have been responding by drinking more Rosé. According to Vinexpo overall consumption of Rosé worldwide is expected to increase by 7.5% by 2016. But, I don’t mean to bore you with statistics. The main reason to drink Rosé is that it literally can pair with anything you want to serve. I often refer to Rosé as the swiss army knife of wine and food pairing. My personal favorites are pairing a nice glass with barbequed ribs in the summer and turkey in the winter. There is a plethora of new VQA rosé wines being released through the LCBO as we head towards summer.
2013 Patio 9 Pink – LCBO 323766 – $12.95 – Just a bit of fizz as you pour it in the glass this wine is loaded with candied watermelon flavours (that’s the fancy way of saying Watermelon Jolly Rancher). Very easy drinking with a bit of sweetness but acidity and bubbles help cut through the sugar.
2012 Catastrophe Rosé – LCBO 370973 – $13.95 – Off-dry with watermelon and cranberry flavours. This wine truly tastes like summer in a glass. Structured with nice acidity so the sweetness doesn’t overpower.
2013 Top Bench Rosé – LCBO 324541 – $11.95 – Off-dry flavours are more raspberry and strawberry. This wine is just plain refreshing, fresh and crisp.
2013 Sibling Rivalry Pink – LCBO 171033 – $13.95 – Sibling Rivalry is one of my favorite labels on the LCBO shelf… Consistently it is better than its price point. Strawberry-Rhubarb are what you will find in this bottle with just a slight touch of sweetness on the finish. This is one I love to keep around for Thanksgiving if I can keep it on the shelf for that long.
2013 Pink House Wine Co. – LCBO 324558 – $12.95 – Another fun label with rules on the back to make sure you don’t overthink anything while drinking this wine. Don’t let the fun packaging or price fool you. This wine is a little off-dry but the sweetness isn’t overpowering.
2013 Henry of Pelham Rosé – LCBO 6134714 – $13.95 – This Rosé is a little more “serious” as it is a little drier than the other wines mentioned to this point. Dry Rosé is interesting because you get very fresh fruit flavours but the finish is very clean … It leaves you looking for more of those flavours on your palate… but the only way to bring them back is with another sip.
2013 Featherstone Rosé – Vintages 117861 – $14.95 – Strawberry, Cranberry and hints of Banana. Bone dry with bright acidity mated with lots of bright fruit flavours.
2013 Fielding Rosé – Vintages 53421 – $15.95 – This is everything I look for in a great wine to pair with whatever I decide to toss on the barbeque. A perfect tandem of fresh fruit flavours like Strawberry and Cranberry with Subtle Green Pepper on the finish.
