Pink Wines for Canada Day

You may have have envisioned a day of sprinkler dodging and outdoor grazing but there's no guarantee the crisp, white, patio sippers you're hoping to pair with a smokin' hot deck or backyard will meet their match on Canada's birthday. In Vancouver, especially, the weather forecast for Canada Day has rarely been reliably hot and sunny. So why not plan on serving the most versatile category of wine available with your flexible festivities? "Think Pink", as JoieFarm likes to remind us, and try one of the following blush wines on July 1st:

Chateau Des Charmes 2015 Cuvée D'Andrée Rosé - $16
A fruity and fresh rosé with lifted, red berry aromas and a touch of cooling minerality on the nose. Medium bodied with a touch of residual sugar mid-palate that finishes dry thanks to a refreshing wave of cranberry-rhubarb acidity and flavours. Grapefruit rind and light, dried herbs linger on the moderate finish.
Icon Score

Fort Berens Estate Winery 2015 Pinot Noir Rosé - $18
An orangy-pink rosé with a lovely combination of delicate, sweet berry fruit and warm, sage and dried herbs aromas on the appealing nose and the off-dry, approachable palate. Cool, steely-mineral notes and cranberry acidity balance the residual sugar nicely and linger on the finish.
Icon Score

Quails' Gate Estate Winery 2015 Rosé - $18
A consistent blend, from the 2014 vintage, of 80% Gamy Noir, 10% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Gris offering a pleasant, delicate, nose of Spring flowers, strawberry, watermelon, citrus peel and white pepper. Followed by a fruity, slightly off-dry and slightly boozy, effervescent palate of ripe citrus, strawberry, cranberry, minerals, wild herbs and watermelon rind flavours. A delicious taste of Spring. 
Icon Score

Bench 1775 Winery 2015 Glow Rosé - $20
A truly lovely rosé to experience via its delicate, candied fruit and floral-herb nose and superbly balanced, slightly off-dry, mouth-watering, berry and citrus-infused palate. Salmon-hued and subtly textured, produced with minimal skin contact and aged in stainless steel tanks. Finishes long with lingering herb, melon and tangy, tropical fruit notes.
Icon Score

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2015 Oldfield Series Rosé - $20
2015 was another stellar vintage for this Provence styled, salmon-pink rosé made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes sourced from the winery's Diamondback Vineyard along the Black Sage Bench in the Southern Okanagan Valley. Its balance of sweet and savoury characters on the joyful nose and on the off-dry, mouth-watering palate is spot on.
Icon Score

River Stone Estate Winery 2015 Malbec Rosé - $20
Though muted on the nose, with a youthful bouquet of strawberry, raspberry and mineral aromas, this rosé is as bright and cheerful as its cherry-coral colour suggests. Made from 100%, estate-grown Malbec grapes this blush's raison d'être is its delightful, juicy'n'crisp, off-dry palate of plump, strawberry-kiwi and citrus-pomegranate flavours.
Icon Score

LaStella 2015 LaStellina Rosato - $20
Produced in the saignée method which "bleeds" juice from newly crushed red grapes imparting a pale strawberry colour and just a touch of tannin texture, the LaStellina is a blend of 62.6% Cabernet Franc, 29.9% Merlot and 7.6% Sangiovese with a fruity, joyful flavour profile of strawberry, rhubarb, cherry and mouth-watering tropical fruit. The balance between the sweet fruit and the acidic elements leans towards off-dry, but not fully.
Icon Score

JoieFarm 2015 Rosé - $21
A very consistent wine, year-to-year, with a distinct colour and profile offering juicy, red fruit and light, dried herbs on the expressive nose and the slightly, off-dry, textured palate where the residual sugar is balanced beautifully by tart cranberry acidity, light tannins and tangy citrus notes. Your go-to, feel-good rosé. 
Icon Score



 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2016 IconWines.ca