Just in case you needed an excuse to drink some Rosé, today is National Rosé Day, so get out and try something new!
National Rosé Day was officially registered in 2014 by Bodvár – House of Rosés and it is celebrated on the second Saturday in June.
Consumers are learning that Rosé wines aren’t just sweet, pink plonk anymore. Provence, in the South of France, is infamous for their quality Rosé and there are wonderful Rosé wines now from all around the globe. Rosé is available in a variety of different styles from sweet to dry and it pairs well with a myriad of foods and, of course, the patio.
Red wines obtain their colour from maceration and maceration is when grapes are pressed and the juice is allowed to sit on the skins. For red wines maceration usually lasts through the fermentation stage, but for the maceration of rosé wines, the skins are removed before the wine gets too dark. Rosé wines can also be made by mixing red and white wine together, or, it can be made using a French technique called saignée.
Saignée (pronounced san-yay) is actually a byproduct of red winemaking. During maceration juice is bled off, creating a higher ratio of grape skins to grape juice resulting in a more concentrated red wine. The juice that is bled off is pink in colour and it is fermented to produce a Rosé wine.
For National Rosé Day I have chosen a wine that has been recommended to me on several occasions recently, and it comes from Monster Vineyards in Penticton, BC. You may not be familiar with this winery but you have likely heard of its “parent” winery, Poplar Grove. Monster Vineyards released its first vintage in 2006 and it now “has the capacity to produce and cellar most of the wines for both labels.”[1]
2016 Monster Vineyards Rosé $15.99
Monster Vineyards has a fun label referencing the monster “Ogopogo” (kind of a Canadian version of the Loch Ness Monster) which, legend has it, lives close to Monster Vineyards in the nearby Okanagan Lake.
This Rosé was made using the saignée method and it contains 62% Merlot, 34% Malbec and 4% Syrah. It is salmon pink in colour with a light nose on which I found grapefruit and fresh strawberries. On the palate there were flavours of watermelon with a hint of banana and then strawberry jam. The wine itself is medium bodied and it has a silky viscosity in the mouth. It is ever so slightly sweet with a juicy acidity. A great wine to savour on the patio this summer; it can be enjoyed with mild cheeses, light pastas and salads.
Comment below and let me know what Rosés you’ll be sipping on this summer!
[1] Schreiner, J. (October 7, 2014). The Poplar Grove/Monster Vineyards Strategy for Quality. Retrieved from
http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/2014/10/the-poplar-grovemonster-vineyards.html?m=1
I looked for the 2016 Monster Vineyard Rose, but was unsuccessful in finding it in a little wine shop on the Quay. I will look for it in my neighborhood shop this week. I trust your recommendations.