Results of the 2018 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Rosé

Category Overview by Judge and Panel Leader Treve Ring

As colourful and fragrant as the cherry blossoms bursting out across the country every spring, Canadian rosés swell in numbers, and tighten in form, consistently year over year. Pinot noir leads the blends, with gamay and cabernet franc pulling in impressive appearances. Though styles vary widely, we’re seeing a decrease in residual sugar, and an increase in purpose, both of which are promising trends.

This year’s top medal winning rosés were all about freshness, all from 2017, and all charming enough to encourage a second, or third glass. Rosé, though such a quaffable, friendly wine, can easily be overwrought by heavy hands (extraction, residual sugar, oak, yeasts, etc.). The ones that impressed us the most, our gold medal winners, feel effortless: pale, taut, savoury, subtly fruited, finely structured and dry. This year’s gold winners included two from British Columbia’s Wine Islands, a welcome reflection of cool, coastal, climate wines, and the style the judges believe in.

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Fitzpatrick 2017 Pink Mile Rose, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Huff Estates 2017 Rosé, Ontario
Orofino 2017 Cabernet Franc Rosé Pozza Vineyard, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Quails’ Gate 2017 Lucy’s Block Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Salt Spring Vineyards 2017 Rose, Gulf Islands, British Columbia
Sea Star Vineyards 2017 Blanc de Noir, Gulf Islands, British Columbia

50th Parallel 2017 Pinot Noir Rose, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Blue Grouse 2017 Quill Rosé, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Haywire 2017 Gamay Rose, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Malivoire  2017 Ladybug Rose, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2017 Rose Moira, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Quails’ Gate 2017 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
The Chase Wines 2017 Rose, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Vanessa Vineyard Rosé 2017, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia

Arrowleaf 2017 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Magnotta 2017 Venture Series Dry Rosé, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Malivoire 2017 Vivant Rose, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Peller Estates Niagara 2017 Private Reserve Rose, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Sandhill 2017 Rose Terroir Driven Wine, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
SpearHead 2017 Pinot Noir Rose, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Synchromesh 2017 Cabernet Franc Rose Cachola Family Vineyards, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Tawse 2017 Rose Sketches, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

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